The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Frankfurt am Main launched a large-scale operation on Tuesday morning targeting suspected bribery within the construction sector. According to Senior Prosecutor Dominik Mies, roughly 300 personnel-including police, tax investigators, and customs-are searching 34 properties across the Rhein-Main region and Bavaria. Furthermore, four individuals were taken into custody due to concerns regarding flight and potential evidence concealment.
The investigation alleges that 28 accused individuals have been involved in paying or receiving bribe funds since 2019 to secure preferential awarding of contracts in the construction industry. The people detained include three site managers from nationwide real estate companies who are accused of receiving bribes worth millions, as well as the managing director of a construction firm who allegedly disbursed these payments. Investigators estimate the total damage resulting from this scheme to be approximately 12.5 million euros.
In addition to the property searches, authorities are also executing a freezing order of assets, targeting real estate and vehicles belonging to the suspects, equal to the total estimated damage. During the ongoing raids, law enforcement has successfully seized cash deposits, including 14,500 euros found under a mattress in the apartment of one of the arrested individuals.