Cologne construction swindling: This is how millions of fraud is uncovered on the city project!

Cologne construction swindling: This is how millions of fraud is uncovered on the city project!

The German feature film from 2019, which is now on March 3, 2025, describes mafia -based structures in Cologne -based construction in an urgent way. The focus is on Andrea Di Carlo, who works as a clerk in the Cologne building authority. His father once had to flee from Italy to escape a mafia past. Ironically, however, Andrea can be found in an environment that is characterized by similar mafia practices, known locally as "Cologne Klüngel".

The connection to Joseph "Jupp" Asch, an upstart and leading actor of the film, which has a network of informants and helpers, is particularly explosive. Asch links its ambitions with one of the largest public construction projects in Europe: the new building of the city administration in Cologne. In this context, it quickly becomes clear that his goals are not altruistic. Jupp plans to branch up several million euros for himself, which drives the entire action.

The intrigues of the Jupp Asch

Joseph "Jupp" Asch is embodied by Rainer Bock and represents a central figure that pulls the threads in Cologne's construction. With an influence that extends far beyond the borders of his office, Jupp is not only interested in the construction project, but also in control of the media reports. Thanks to his relationship with the new honorary citizen Alfons Dupont, who has the majority of all Cologne newspapers, he succeeds in silence.

But Aschs makes it unexpected as Lothar Stüssgen, building director and Aschs confidant, dies during a brothel visit. This incident means that Andrea di Carlo, played by Serkan Kaya, becomes a provisional building department. The shift in power gives Andrea the opportunity to manipulate the allocation of the city administration mandate in Jupp's interest. As a result, the symbiosis between corrupt machinations and public building affairs is revealed.

cast and creative participants

The audience expects a gripping representation that is reinforced by the acting performance of the following actors:

• Josef Asch: Rainer Bock
• Andrea di Carlo: Serkan Kaya
• Lothar Stüssgen: Joachim Krol
• Alina Behrens: Eva Meckbach
• Alfred von Hoppenheim: Ernst Stötzner
• Nikolaus von Hoppenheim: Ulrich Brandhoff
• Valerie Dickschanz: Judith Engel
• Tom Middeldorf: Jörg Hartmann
• Simone: Katrin Röver
• Rösser: Jörn Hentschel
• Vogeler: Felix Vörtler

The musical accompaniment comes from Dürbeck & Dohmen, while Robert Berghoff is responsible for the camera. The script was written by Ralf Husmann, directed by Richard Huber, the viewer is kidnapped in the dark structures of the Cologne construction system.

Overall, the film is not only a drama about corruption and power games, but also a sharp analysis of the spatial and social conditions in Cologne, which are deeply interwoven with the history and the presence of the construction. The narrative questions ethics and morality in a world in which ambitions often triumph over integrity, and pulls the viewer into a whirlpool of greed and intrigue.