Bollywood actor Dino Morea and his brother Santino were questioned by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police for five hours on Wednesday in connection with the alleged ₹65 crore Mithi river desilting scam, officials said.

This marks the second time in three days that the actor has been summoned for questioning in the matter, a police official confirmed. “Dino Morea and his brother Santino appeared before the EOW officials at the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office in south Mumbai, and their statements were recorded,” the official said.

Focus on suspicious financial transactions

EOW officers are investigating suspicious financial transactions involving the accused. “The EOW team also found some suspicious transactions of the arrested accused and were probing if the actor had any role in these transactions,” the official added.

After their statements were recorded, Dino and his brother exited the EOW office at around 7 pm. The actor, who wore a mask while stepping out, avoided questions posed by media personnel waiting at the entrance of the EOW's new administrative building and departed in his vehicle.

Alleged links to arrested middleman

The Morea brothers are also being questioned over alleged links with Ketan Kadam, a middleman arrested in the case alongside Jai Joshi. Preliminary investigation revealed that the brothers had repeated phone conversations with Kadam.

Kadam and Joshi were reportedly involved in renting ‘silt pusher’ machines and multipurpose amphibious pontoon machines to contractors engaged in Mithi river desilting operations.

Scam involves manipulation of tenders

Earlier this month, the EOW filed a case against 13 individuals, including civic officials and contractors, over alleged manipulation of tenders related to renting specialised dredging equipment, purportedly to favour select suppliers. The desilting operation concerns the Mithi river, which flows through Mumbai and drains into the Arabian Sea.