Mithi river desilting scam; Dino Morea appears before ED again; read more

Bollywood actor Dino Morea appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai on Thursday as part of an ongoing probe into a suspected Rs 65.54 crore money laundering scam tied to desilting contracts for the Mithi river.As reported by PTI, the 49-year-old actor reached the ED office at Ballard Estate around 10:30 AM following a fresh summons, officials confirmed.ED probes alleged financial linksDino Morea’s statement is being recorded after officials reportedly found financial transactions allegedly connecting him to key accused individuals already arrested by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Earlier, on June 12, the actor was questioned by the ED for several hours.

Investigators are also examining transactions involving a company linked to his brother Santino Morea.Searches over 15 locations

The ED conducted searches on June 6 at over 15 locations across Mumbai and Kochi, including Dino Morea’s Bandra residence, premises linked to Santino, and several BMC officials and contractors. Kochi-based Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd, a firm that allegedly supplied machinery for the desilting work, was among the searched locations.

Scam rooted in BMC contractsThe case originates from an FIR registered by the Mumbai Police EOW in May, naming 13 individuals, including contractors and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials. The FIR alleges that between 2017 and 2023, tenders were manipulated to favor specific machinery suppliers. Contractors allegedly raised fake bills for transporting sludge extracted from the river.The Mithi River desilting initiative was launched after the devastating 2005 Mumbai floods.Middlemen and machinery rentals under lensInvestigators believe that Ketan Kadam and Jai Joshi, both arrested, played a key role as middlemen. The Morea brothers were reportedly questioned over their links with Kadam and other financial ties related to the case.Notably, Dino Morea’s assets were previously attached in 2021 in connection with another money laundering probe.Work frontOn the professional front, Dino Morea's recent outing is the Akshay Kumar starrer comedy flick 'Housefull 5', which is turning out to be a blockbuster.