Mumbai: In a significant development, Bollywood actor Dino Morea was questioned by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police on Wednesday in connection with the alleged ₹65.54 crore Mithi River desilting scam.
According to reports by Mid-Day, officials from the EOW interrogated the actor for nearly eight hours at his residence in Bandra. Following the lengthy questioning, he was reportedly detained before being allowed to return home late in the evening. However, police officials confirmed that the actor has been instructed to appear for further questioning in the coming days.
The controversy centres around alleged financial irregularities in civic contracts awarded by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the desilting and rejuvenation of the Mithi River between 2021 and 2023. The investigating agency alleges that civic officials, contractors, and intermediaries collaborated to inflate the volume of removed silt, submitted fake dumping logs, and manipulated billing rates, causing a massive loss of ₹65.54 crore to the civic body.
Morea’s name surfaced in the investigation following the discovery of alleged financial transactions between his family and one of the prime accused, Ketan Kadam, who was arrested earlier in the probe. Elaborating on the summons, a senior EOW officer stated, “He had been called to verify certain facts that emerged during the probe, primarily regarding financial transactions involving a private firm.”
Reports indicate that Ketan Kadam’s wife was a director in a private company named UBO Ridez Private Limited, a firm connected to Dino Morea’s brother, Santino Morea. Investigators are currently scrutinising how the Kadam family secured the civic contracts and the precise nature of the funds transferred between the accused and the Morea family.
This is not the first time the actor has faced authorities regarding this matter. In May 2025, the EOW had summoned both Dino and Santino Morea after discovering phone records linking them to individuals connected to the scam. Furthermore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had previously conducted search operations at the actor’s residence as part of a parallel money laundering probe.
The EOW has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against 13 individuals, including BMC officials and private contractors, and has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to unravel the deeper links in the multi-crore civic scam.