The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has summoned actor Dino Morea in connection with the ongoing investigation into the ₹65 crore Mithi River desilting scam. The actor appeared before the Mumbai Police on Monday, May 26, 2025, for questioning.
The Mithi River desilting scam involves alleged financial irregularities in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) tendering process for the desilting of the Mithi River, which flows through Mumbai. The EOW alleges that BMC officials colluded with contractors and middlemen to inflate the costs of the desilting project, causing a loss of ₹65.54 crore to the civic body.
According to reports, Morea's connection to the case surfaced during the investigation of call records and financial transactions linked to Ketan Kadam, one of the prime accused in the scam. Police discovered multiple phone conversations between Morea, his brother Santino, and Kadam. The authorities are investigating the nature of these conversations and whether Morea had any knowledge of the alleged illicit dealings. Specifically, the EOW is trying to ascertain if Morea knew about the dealings between Kadam and other parties involved in the scam.
The alleged scam involved tailoring the tender for the desilting contract in a way that favored a particular supplier of machinery needed for the work. It's alleged that BMC officials and contractors conspired and maximized the use of specific machines at escalated rates. While the normal desilting rate was ₹1,609 per metric ton, it was increased to ₹2,193 per metric ton for these machines. The vigilance department of the BMC had initially objected to this rate.
Furthermore, contractors are accused of generating fraudulent bills for transporting sludge out of Mumbai. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) also examined several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed for dumping the extracted silt and found that some MoUs were forged, bearing signatures of individuals unrelated to the contracted land. In some instances, landowners denied any agreement or confirmed the signatures weren't theirs. Shockingly, one of the MoUs was allegedly signed by a person who had died over 20 years ago.
In early May 2025, the Mumbai police registered a case against 13 individuals, including contractors and civic officials. The FIR includes charges against five contractors, three middlemen, and two company officials. The accused face charges of criminal conspiracy and fraud for allegedly defrauding the municipal corporation through falsified documentation, inflated billing, and misuse of public funds. The accused municipal officers include Assistant Engineer Prashant Ramugade, Deputy Chief Engineer Ganesh Bendre, and retired engineer Taishette, who allegedly colluded with contractors to approve inflated invoices and manipulate verification reports.
Investigators have also uncovered evidence suggesting that bribes and kickbacks were paid to government officials in the form of sponsored flight tickets and hotel stays. For example, trips to Singapore and Dubai for the family of BMC engineer Prashant Ramgude were allegedly arranged by Ketan Kadam.
The EOW has arrested Ketan Kadam, director of Woder India LLP, and Jayesh Joshi of Virgo Specialities, who allegedly supplied equipment like silt pusher machines to various contractors assigned to desilting the Mithi river. The investigation revealed that Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd, Kerala, led by Deepak Mohan, in collusion with BMC officials and contractors, manipulated tenders for the Mithi river desilting project by enforcing the mandatory use of silt pusher machines and multipurpose amphibious pontoon machines.
