Mithi River desilting fraud: ED to question Ketan Kadam in Arthur Road jail

A PMLA court allows ED to question key accused Ketan Kadam in Mithi desilting scam, linked to ₹65.54 crore loss to BMC. Bail plea rejected.

MUMBAI: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Friday allowed the Enforcement Directorate to question Ketan Kadam, an intermediary in the Mithi desilting project and a key accused in the scam. He was arrested on May 7 by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for alleged irregularities in the execution of contracts for the project. On the same day, special judge NG Shukla rejected Kadam’s bail plea.

Mithi River desilting fraud: ED to question Ketan Kadam in Arthur Road jail

The special court directed the superintendent of the Arthur Road jail to allow the ED officials to question Kadam and record his statement between July 28 and August 1. The court order came in response to the request put forward by the ED, stating that Kadam might be a key accused in the alleged fraud. “The Superintendent of Arthur Road Jail is further directed to allow the concerned (ED) officers to carry necessary equipment along with them for the purpose of recording Kadam’s statement”, said special judge RB Rote.

Kadam, the chief executive of an industrial product manufacturer Virgo Specialties in Mumbai, allegedly charged inflated rates to rent silt pusher machines and dredging equipment from a Kochi-based company named Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd.

The flight tickets and hotel expenses of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officers who visited Kerala and Delhi to inspect desilting machines were borne by Ketan Kadam, the court observed in its hearing on June 21 and added some BMC officers worked hand-in-glove with Kadam to fix the terms and conditions of the tender for desilting machines so that they would benefit in the future.

The BMC’s tender was also tailored in such a way that Matprop gained a monopoly over the contracts, according to the EOW.

The ED’s probe is based on a case registered in May by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police. The scam allegedly occurred between 2017 and 2023 causing ₹65.54 crore loss to the BMC. It came into light in May 2025 when the EOW flagged the scam and booked 13 individuals, including contractors and three BMC officials.

On June 7, the ED had said that its investigation and search operations prima facie indicated that the accused and others colluded to form a cartel with the intent of manipulating BMC’s tenders related to the desilting of Mithi River. In the same month, the ED conducted multiple raids in Mumbai and Kochi in connection with the alleged scam. The ED also questioned Dino Morea and his brother Santino Morea, BMC officials and contractors.