ED Raids Actor Dino Morea’s Home in Mithi River Scam; Money Trail Leads to Dubai and BMC Links

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out searches at the residence of Bollywood actor Dino Morea in connection with the Mithi River scam. The raids, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), also covered 15 locations in Mumbai and Kochi, including the homes of contractors, middlemen, and Morea’s brother, Santino Morea.

The ED investigation follows findings by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which had earlier questioned the Morea brothers after the arrest of prime accused Ketan Kadam. Officials revealed that Dino and Santino Morea’s names surfaced during the probe through phone records, WhatsApp chats, and financial transactions linked to Kadam.

EOW Sources said Dino Morea allegedly transferred funds to individuals in Dubai at Kadam’s behest. These transactions were reportedly coordinated through phone calls and messaging platforms. During questioning, the actor was asked about the recipients and purpose of the fund transfers. Officials believe they have uncovered key leads indicating cross-border money laundering.

Meanwhile, Santino Morea is under scrutiny for his firm Grupo Solutions, which was awarded a contract to maintain dredging equipment used in the Mithi River project. The contract, investigators believe, was granted through Kadam’s influence and with the help of BMC engineers. Grupo Solutions is co-owned by Kiran Purohit, wife of fugitive Bhupendra Purohit, and Sarika Kamdar, an associate of BMC engineer Prashant Ramugade.

Originally, the contract was meant for Kochi-based MatProp Technical Services Pvt. Ltd., but officials suspect it was deliberately shifted to Grupo Solutions as part of the scam. EOW suspects that Grupo’s bank accounts were used to route large sums of money from other contractors, with Kadam playing a central role in the financial network. Funds also allegedly moved through an account linked to Kamdar.

The scam centers on financial irregularities in BMC’s desilting operations for the Mithi River. Kadam and co-accused Jay Joshi allegedly overcharged the civic body for machinery sourced via MatProp, in collusion with officials from the Storm Water Drains (SWD) department.

As the probe deepens, ED officials are expected to summon more individuals connected to the case. The financial trail now spans multiple cities and offshore accounts, putting the spotlight back on BMC’s controversial desilting contracts and alleged misuse of public funds​