Among the 13 accused, two primary accused, Ketan Kadam, a middleman and Director of Woder India LLP, and Jayesh Joshi of Virgo Specialities Pvt Ltd, a company that allegedly supplied silt-pusher machines and other equipment to contractors involved in the desilting work, were arrested by the SIT. However, Joshi got bail on Thursday
Also, Rs 18 lakh was transferred to the bank account of Morea’s brother Santino, said the source. File pic/Nimesh Dave
Actor Dino Morea’s Bandra residence was thoroughly searched by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Friday in connection with the multi-crore Mithi River desilting scam. “The case is likely to generate political clout ahead of civic polls,” said a source.
On Friday, the central agency conducted search operations at 15 locations in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Kochi in Kerala.
Among the 13 accused, two primary accused, Ketan Kadam, a middleman and Director of Woder India LLP, and Jayesh Joshi of Virgo Specialities Pvt Ltd, a company that allegedly supplied silt-pusher machines and other equipment to contractors involved in the desilting work, were arrested by the SIT. However, Joshi got bail on Thursday.
By the press time, ED officials had been continuing the search operations at the residence of BMC Assistant Engineer Prashant Ramgude, Morea’s house, and other premises of suspects as well as the accused.
During search operations, sources told mid-day that ED officials examined key documents recovered from the premises of the accused and suspects. Investigators are closely scrutinising details of properties acquired during and immediately after the period when the alleged scam took place.
Sources added that the ED has also sought information regarding the source of funds used for these purchases. “The expenditure of the foreign trips of accused as well as suspects are also being studied by the ED officials,” said the source.
According to EOW, the FIR is based on the findings of the SIT. It alleges that contractors, in connivance with BMC officials, submitted fake MoUs claiming they had received permission from landowners and gram panchayats to use certain sites for silt dumping. Investigations have revealed that in many cases, the documents were forged, some were unsigned, undated or signed by unauthorised individuals. In fact, when landowners were questioned, many denied ever entering into any MoU or allowing their land to be used for dumping.
Among the companies named in the FIR are Acute Designs, Kailas Construction Company, NA Construction, Nikhil Construction Company and JRS Infrastructure. These firms allegedly submitted falsified documents to the BMC’s Stormwater Drainage (SWD) department, which allegedly accepted them without verification. As a result, payments were cleared even though there was no actual sludge dumped at the claimed sites.
Between 2013 and 2023, the SWD department paid contractors over Rs 45.50 crore based on these fabricated MoUs and reports, causing substantial financial damage to the civic body. Officials who were responsible for verifying the authenticity of the dumping site documents allegedly ignored the verification process, helping the contractors retain their tenders.
Sources said that three people, including Morea, Ramgude and Joshi, are ‘likely to be summoned by the ED officials for questioning’.
Ramgude reportedly took a day trip to Singapore with his family, with hotel arrangements at the InterContinental Singapore made by Kadam. A similar arrangement was made for a trip to Dubai, where Kadam again handled the hotel bookings. Mumbai Police have recovered detailed records of these transactions from Kadam.
Also, Rs 18 lakh was transferred to the bank account of Morea’s brother Santino, said the source.
Rs 65 cr value of the Mithi River scam
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