ED Raids Dino Morea’s Home in ₹65 Crore Mithi River Scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted a series of searches at 15 locations, including the Mumbai residence of Bollywood actor Dino Morea, in connection with a ₹65.54 crore money laundering case related to the Mithi River desilting project. The raids extended across Mumbai and Kochi and targeted contractors, middlemen, and individuals linked to the alleged scam.
The action comes after revelations that fraudulent contracts were awarded under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for desilting work on the Mithi River. These contracts reportedly resulted in significant financial losses to the civic body. The ED has invoked provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as it investigates the monetary trail and beneficiaries of the irregular transactions.
Dino Morea Under the ED Lens
Dino Morea’s name surfaced during earlier investigations when Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing questioned him about transactions involving his brother Santino Morea and businessman Ketan Kadam — one of the key accused in the scam. The ED is examining whether Morea had any financial or operational involvement in the setup that allegedly rigged tenders and inflated work records to siphon off public funds.
Investigators believe that BMC officials had visited Kochi in 2020 to inspect equipment from a company named Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd. Tenders floated soon after were reportedly tailored to specifications that only Matprop’s equipment could fulfill, raising concerns of collusion. Contractors were allegedly paid based on inflated figures of silt removed from the riverbed, with no proper verification.
Mithi River Scam: A Broader Corruption Trail
The desilting of the Mithi River, which stretches nearly 18 km through Mumbai and serves as a crucial part of the city’s drainage infrastructure, has been a recurring project aimed at flood prevention. However, repeated complaints and whistleblower reports suggest that these contracts have become a conduit for corruption. BJP leaders had raised questions about the project’s transparency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council last year, demanding a deeper probe.
The ED’s raids are part of a wider crackdown to trace the financial transactions and examine how government tenders were manipulated to benefit a select few. The agency is believed to have seized electronic devices, financial records, and documents during the search operations to establish a money trail.
High-Profile Attention and Civic Accountability
The involvement of a prominent film personality has thrown fresh public and media spotlight on a civic scandal that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Legal experts suggest that this could speed up the scrutiny of similar infrastructure projects and raise the demand for reforms in public procurement processes.
With multiple high-value contracts now under the ED’s scanner, more individuals from the political, business, and civic sectors may come under investigation. As the probe continues, further disclosures are expected in the coming days.
