René Benko accused in Vienna – threatening up to 10 years in prison

The Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) in Vienna for the first time has charged charges against the former real estate billionaire René Benko. The judicial authority accuses Benko of having asset assets to the disadvantage of creditors as a sole proprietor. A corresponding indictment was brought in at the Innsbruck district court.

Specifically, the public prosecutor accuses him of “under the impression of increasing payment difficulties and a foreseeable opening of the bankruptcy” still gave relatives 300,000 euros. The criminal offense is fraudulent crida in Austrian law. Overall, the damage determined in this procedure amounts to 660,000 euros. The punishment is one to ten years of imprisonment.

The indictment is part of the procedural complex around the failed Signa Group. There are against around a dozen accused and against two associations. The total damage determined so far is 300 million euros, according to the WKStA.

The authority also suspects the 48-year-old of infidelity, fraud and bankruptcy. According to investigators, he is said to have cheated on investors and hid assets from authorities, creditors and bankruptcy administrators. He has been in custody since January.

Benko had built up a nested company network in the low interest rate phase. For example, he invested in the Galeria Warehouse Group, the Luxury department store KaDeWe and the Hamburg Elbtower project. In addition to internal problems, Signa was brought down from rising interest rates, energy prices and construction costs.