Dino Morea, brother Santino questioned by Mumbai Police in alleged Rs 65 crore Mithi River Scam

The Free Press Journal reported that Dino Morea arrived at the EOW office at approximately 11 a.m. to answer questions about the ongoing investigation.

The Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) questioned actor Dino Morea and his brother Santino Morea on Monday regarding the alleged Rs 65 crore Mithi River desilting scam.

The Free Press Journal reported that Dino Morea arrived at the EOW office at approximately 11 a.m. to answer questions about the ongoing investigation.

Following the discovery of multiple phone call logs involving Dino, his brother Santino, and Ketan Kadam, one of the main suspects in the case, the actor was called in. The purpose, timing, and nature of these communications are presently being closely examined by investigators.

ANI tweeted on X, “Actor Dino Morea is being questioned by EOW of the Mumbai Police in connection with the Mithi River cleaning scam. His name came up in the investigation for having connections with one of the arrested accused in the matter: Mumbai police.”

The case centres on the alleged embezzlement of more than Rs 65 crore that was approved for the desilting and cleaning of the Mithi River, a body of water vital to Mumbai's flood-control and drainage systems.

A high-level investigation into potential financial irregularities and collusion has been prompted by the suspicion that the funds, which were intended to improve the river's flow and prevent urban flooding, were embezzled.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ha sbeen accused of embezzling money associated with the rental of dredging and silt-removal equipment. The primary accused, Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi, are suspected of greatly inflating the rental fees charged to the civic body for equipment purchased from Kochi-based Matprop Technical Services Pvt. Ltd., according to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

Investigators believe this overbilling was carried out with the collusion of certain employees from Matprop, along with officials from BMC’s Storm Water Drains (SWD) department, thereby facilitating the misuse of public funds.