Uncovering the potential illegality regarding land sales at Mainz's port
In a shocking turn of events, a notice has been issued accusing the city works and former city leadership of deliberately bypassing approval requirements for public entities and evading tender obligations in the sale of the Mainz Marina. Key actors implicated in this allegation include former CEO Hanns-Detlev Höhne, his successor Daniel Gahr, board member Tobias Brosze, finance commissioner Günter Beck (Greens), and the current Interior Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Michael Ebling (SPD).
The Marina, located in the Mainz Customs Harbor, was sold for just 86,000 euros, a fraction of the estimated value between 6 to 11 million euros, according to expert opinions. The sale was finalised and approved by a circulation resolution of the city utilities' board in March 2021.
The Marina's sale was made to Zollhafen Mainz GmbH, a private company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH), which is now marketing almost 30 building plots with a gross building area of 22 hectares. The Free Voters Community Mainz estimates the proceeds from these sales to be at least 300 million euros.
The Free Voters are demanding answers, questioning who exactly checked and decided that public tenders could be dispensed with in the sales process, how high are the sales proceeds and profits in the Zollhafen, and whether the city board and/or the mayor checked the legality of the previous sales.
Interestingly, the Mainz city utilities have handled the entire payment traffic for the customs harbor companies, suggesting they had actual control over the development and sales in the Mainz customs harbor from the start. The Mainz city utilities also hold the chairmanship of the shareholders' meeting of the Mainz Harbor GmbH, which manages the Mainz customs harbor.
The Free Voters Community Mainz disputes the claim that the Zollhafen Mainz GmbH is a private enterprise, stating that the Mainz city utilities have both economic, strategic, and actual control over the Zollhafen Mainz GmbH.
A criminal complaint was filed on July 3rd, 2025, by the Free Voters Community Mainz, accusing suspected embezzlement, bribery, and violations of procurement law in connection with the marketing and sale of properties in the Mainz customs harbor.
New explosive documents on the sale of the marina in the Mainz Zollhafen have surfaced, but the City of Mainz refuses to answer. The Free Voters are calling for clarification in the Mainz city council, including questions about who exactly has the management of the Mainz Zollhafen, whether supervisory boards and city council are aware of the consortium agreement, and who checked and decided that public tenders could be dispensed with in the sales process.
The Mainz customs harbor was decommissioned as an industrial harbor in 2013 and converted into a general residential area or mixed residential area. The Zollhafen Mainz GmbH was founded by the Mainz city utilities for marketing purposes, involving the private real estate marketing firm CA Immo Deutschland GmbH.
For more detailed information on these events, visit our website.
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