ED summons Dino Morea in Mithi desilting case next wk
Mumbai: The
Enforcement Directorate
(ED) has summoned actor
Dino Morea
for questioning next week, following searches at his premises regarding a money laundering case linked to the Mithi river desilting scam that caused a Rs 65 crore loss to the BMC.
The ED said BMC officials and contractors had created a cartel to secure civic tenders at inflated rates, and they are investigating BMC engineer Prashant Ramgude in the case.
In a press release, the ED said, "The evidence collected during the course of investigation and search operation prima facie indicates that Prashant Ramgude, Bhupendra Purohit, Jay Joshi, Ketan Kadam, officials of Matprop Technical Service Pvt Ltd and others colluded to form a cartel with the intent to manipulate BMC tenders related to the desilting of the Mithi river."
The ED release said the cartel formation "effectively conferred a monopoly in the award of desilting contracts of Mithi river and caused payments at inflated rates for desilting works, resulting in undue gains to the contractors and associated parties" causing financial loss to the public exchequer". It said illegal gains were concealed through layering via shell companies and firms established through collaboration among Ketan Kadam, Bhupendra Purohit, Prashant Ramgude, and other individuals.
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