The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted raids at the residential premises of actor Dino Morea in Mumbai. The agency also conducted sweeps at multiple locations in Maharashtra and Kerala, as part of a money laundering probe linked to the alleged Rs 65 crore Mithi river desilting scam. Official sources confirmed to PTI that the searches spanned more than 15 premises, covering the homes and offices of Morea, his brother, several contractors, and others suspected to be connected to the case. The investigation is being carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW).According to reports, the scam centres on alleged irregularities in the desilting of the Mithi River. These came under intense scrutiny following the 2005 floods. Despite repeated efforts by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to prevent such disasters through desilting contracts, audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and inquiries by the Anti-Corruption Bureau flagged significant discrepancies between the reported word done and the actual work carried out at the site.Investigators state that those involved in the scam, inflated bills, falsified work logs, and systematic diversion of public funds. Tenders for specialised equipment were allegedly manipulated to benefit select suppliers. Authorities suspect that a nexus of BMC officials, private contractors, and middlemen colluded to siphon off crores through fake project reports and bogus claims.Actor Dino Morea had recently been questioned by the EOW in connection with the case. He is not among the 13 individuals named in the FIR, which includes civic officials and private contractors, but the ED is reportedly examining financial links and transactions with his name.Sources told PTI that documents and digital evidence seized during Friday’s raids are likely to be key in tracing the fund flow and identifying beneficiaries of the alleged scam.
