Latest news with #Morea
Indian Express
31-07-2025
- Indian Express
Mithi desilting scam: ED's second round of raids target 8 locations of BMC contractors in Mumbai
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is raiding eight locations in Mumbai related to the alleged Mithi river desilting scam on Thursday, targeting contractors accused of submitting false memoranda of understanding to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) about river silt dumping, sources in the agency told The Indian Express. This is the second round of searches carried out by ED, which raided residences and offices of the 13 accused middlemen, BMC officers, and others at 15 places in Mumbai and Kerala in the first week of June. The agency had also raided the Bandra home of Bollywood actor Dino Morea. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police had booked 13 accused–five private contractors, three BMC officials, three middlemen, and two private company officials–in May for allegedly causing wrongful loss to the civic body worth more than Rs 65.54 crore in the alleged scam. Desilting work contracts worth nearly Rs 1,100 crore are under the scanner. Based on the EOW's predicate offence, ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and began a money-laundering investigation. According to sources, the ED began investigating properties acquired by the accused during the scam period and the source of the money used to acquire the properties. The initial police inquiry revealed various financial irregularities related to contracts awarded between 2021-22 and 2022-23 for desilting the Mithi river. These irregularities relate to the transportation of sludge and its dumping on the ground. Later, EOW found that the contractors submitted nine fake memoranda of understanding. In the past few months, both the EOW and ED have questioned actor Dino Morea, who has not been named an accused in the case yet, and his brother. A close friend of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, Morea is reportedly close to Ketan Kadam, a key accused in the alleged scam and the alleged middleman of Vodar India Limited, with whom the actor has reportedly been acquainted for the past 25 years. EOW sources said there were five to seven monetary transactions worth Rs 14-18 lakh between Morea and Kadam. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the EOW is investigating these transactions. After the 2005 Mumbai floods, the authorities realised the issues with the Mithi river, an 18.64-km seasonal river, and the Government put in efforts to clean sludge from the riverbed to ensure uninterrupted water flow. It has been alleged that massive corruption occurred in the desilting work sanctioned and carried out by the BMC. The SIT has already arrested two middlemen—Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi, owner of Virgo Specialities Private Limited.
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Mithi River desilting fraud: ED questions Dino Morea again, seeks further clarifications
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned actor Dino Morea again on Thursday as part of its money-laundering investigation related to the alleged irregularities in contracts to desilt the Mithi River, which caused a loss of over ₹65 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The 49-year-old was at the ED's office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai for around six-and-a-half hours, during which investigators sought further information and clarifications from him, agency sources said. 'There were certain details that we needed to ascertain and verify. And for that, he was called again. The probe is still at a preliminary stage,' said an ED official, requesting anonymity. Morea arrived at the ED office around 10.30 am and left around 5 pm. The Mumbai unit of the central agency had previously summoned the actor on June 12 to record his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED is investigating whether Morea and his brother Santino were involved in the alleged fraud or if they were linked to any part of the proceeds of crime generated by people and entities being probed in the case. The brothers have denied all allegations of their involvement in the case. Earlier, on June 6, the ED carried out searches at 18 locations across Mumbai, Kochi and Thrissur in connection with the investigation. The locations searched included the residential and/or office premises of Dino and Santino Morea, BMC engineer Prashant Ramgude, civic contractor Bhupendra Purohit, alleged intermediaries Jay Joshi and Ketan Kadam, and Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd, a Kochi-based company that rented machinery and equipment for the desilting work. According to the ED, the Morea brothers are allegedly close associates of Kadam. The ED's probe is based on Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) case, which it had registered in May and had subsequently questioned the Morea brothers last month. The EOW booked 13 people and entities in the case, including three BMC officials, for allegedly causing a wrongful loss of ₹65.54 crore to the BMC. On June 7, the ED said that its investigation and search operations had prima facie indicated that the accused people and others allegedly colluded to form a cartel with the intent to manipulate BMC's tenders related to desilting the Mithi River. 'This action 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, thereby causing financial loss to the public exchequer,' the agency had said in a statement. These undue financial gains were concealed by layering them through certain shell companies by the accused persons and others, the agency added. During the searches, the ED seized ₹7 lakh in cash and froze 22 bank accounts/fixed deposits and a demat account. The total amount seized or frozen is more than ₹1.25 crore so far, the agency said. Certain digital devices and incriminating documents were also seized that appeared to be relevant for further proceedings under the PMLA, according to the ED.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Time of India
ED records Dino statement again
Mumbai: The (ED) recorded actor 's statement on Thursday in a money laundering case associated with the Mithi river desilting scam, which resulted in a Rs 65 crore loss to the BMC. The ED had questioned him and recorded his statement the previous Thursday too. The ED is examining details submitted by Morea regarding his ransaction with Ketan Kadam, a contractor. — Vijay V Singh
Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Mithi desilting scam: ED questions actor Dino Morea and brother for over 3 hours
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned actor Dino Morea and his brother for over three hours on Thursday, the second time in the past eight days, in connection with the Mithi river desilting scam. Morea, who has not been shown as accused in the case, was questioned along with his brother earlier on June 12. The Morea brothers appeared at the ED's Ballard Estate office on Thursday morning, joined the money-laundering investigation and were allowed to go home after three hours of grilling. They may be called again if required, sources hinted. A close friend of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, Morea is reportedly close to Ketan Kadam, a key accused in the scam and the alleged middleman of Vodar India Limited with whom the actor has reportedly been acquainted for the past 25 years. Sources in the police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) said there were five to seven monetary transactions worth Rs 14-18 lakh between Morea and Kadam. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the EOW is probing these transactions. The EOW last month booked 13 people for allegedly causing wrongful losses worth more than Rs 65.54 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Based on the EOW's predicate offence, the ED registered an enforcement case information report. It last week searched more than 15 locations in Mumbai and Kochi, Kerala, including the premises of 13 BMC officers, contractors, and middlemen named as accused in the EOW case. Morea's Bandra (West) home was also searched and the ED then summoned the actor and his brother to join its investigation. According to sources, the ED has begun investigating properties acquired by the accused during the scam period and the source of the money used to acquire the properties. During the initial inquiry, crucial findings emerged, prompting the agency to conduct the search operations, the sources said. Desilting work contracts worth nearly Rs 1,100 crore are under the scanner. After the 2005 Mumbai floods, the authorities realised the issues with the Mithi river, an 18.64-km seasonal river, and the government put in efforts to clean sludge from the riverbed to ensure uninterrupted water flow. It has been alleged that massive corruption occurred in the desilting work sanctioned and carried out by the BMC. An initial police inquiry revealed that various financial irregularities occurred in connection with contracts awarded for desilting the river between 2021-22 and 2022-23. These irregularities were related to the transportation of sludge and its dumping on the ground. Later, the EOW found that the contractors had submitted nine fake memorandums of understanding and that the BMC officers accused in the case had allegedly misused their positions for wrongful financial gain. The SIT has arrested two middlemen—Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi, owner of Virgo Specialities Private Limited. Among the accused, while Joshi has secured bail, two serving and one retired BMC officers have sought anticipatory bail.
NDTV
19-06-2025
- NDTV
Mithi River Desilting 'Scam': Actor Dino Morea Appears Before Probe Agency ED
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Dino Morea appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here on Thursday to record his statement in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 65 crore Mithi river desilting scam, officials said. Mr Morea reached the ED office situated at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai at around 10.30 am after being summoned by the federal agency, an official said. The actor's statement will be recorded as some financial transactions have been found allegedly linked to him and some accused persons, arrested earlier by the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing in connection with the Mithi river desilting scam, the official said. A large number of media persons were present outside the probe agency's office. Earlier on June 12, Mr Morea was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate officials for several hours. The Enforcement Directorate on June 6 conducted searches at more than 15 locations in Mumbai, and Kochi in Kerala, including the premises of Dino Morea in Bandra (West) area here, those linked to his brother Santino, some Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, and contractors among others, official sources earlier said. The searches were conducted in Kochi as one of the companies that provided desilting equipment to the BMC -- Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd -- is based in this city, they said. The investigation is being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources had said. The Enforcement Directorate case stems from a Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) FIR filed in May against 13 persons, including contractors and civic officials, for an alleged Rs 65.54 crore scam in tenders awarded from 2017-2023 for desilting of the Mithi river, which flows through Mumbai and acts as a stormwater drainage channel for the metro city. The Uddhav Thackeray-led undivided Shiv Sena controlled the cash-rich BMC from 1997 till the party's split in 2022. After the expiry of the general body in 2022, the civic body was controlled by the state government, which was then headed by Eknath Shinde. It was alleged by the police in their complaint that BMC officials tailored the tender for the desilting contract in such a way that it benefited a particular supplier of machinery, and the contractors reportedly generated fraudulent bills for transporting the sludge out of Mumbai. The 49-year-old actor and his brother were questioned by the Mumbai Police EOW in this case last month also. The Morea brothers, it is understood, were questioned by the police about their alleged links with alleged middleman Ketan Kadam, arrested in the case along with another accused, Jai Joshi, apart from some financial transactions made in a company linked to Santino. Kadam and Joshi, according to police, were involved in the renting out of 'silt pusher' machines and multi-purpose amphibious pontoon machines to contractors who were carrying out Mithi river desilting work. The plan to desilt the river was planned by the Mumbai civic authorities following the 2005 floods, which brought the city to a grinding halt. In 2021, the Enforcement Directorate had attached Mr Morea's assets as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank fraud case against Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Sterling Biotech and its promoters.
