Investigations into bankruptcy
Ex-billionaire René Benko in custody
After the arrest of the founder of the real estate and trading group Signa, another important step was taken: the decision about the – initially two-week – pre-trial detention.
The former Austrian real estate investor René Benko has to be remanded in custody. The regional court in Vienna announced this decision on Friday. The founder of the insolvent Signa Group was arrested in Innsbruck the day before. A spokeswoman for the court cited “danger of collusion and commission of crimes” as reasons for the detention.
The Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) suspects the 47-year-old of having concealed assets from creditors and authorities as part of his personal insolvency proceedings. This involves money from a family foundation as well as expensive watches and weapons. The spokeswoman said Benko did not provide any information about the allegations before the regional court in Vienna.
A number of investigations are underway against Benko in Austria, Germany and Italy, including for alleged fraud, breach of trust and bankruptcy. His lawyer has denied the allegations.
Suspicion: deception through some kind of money carousel
The WKStA suspects Benko, among other things, of having deceived Signa investors through a kind of money carousel. He enticed the lenders to make payments by pointing out his own financial commitment.
According to the WKStA, he ended up spending the investors’ amounts partly through transfers across several companies as his own contribution to the capital increase. According to the authorities, an Italian villa belonging to the Signa Group was also moved to a family foundation in the Benko area without sufficient payment.
The entrepreneur, who was considered a multi-billionaire in his heyday, had built up a large portfolio with his Signa Group, which also included the German department store groups KaDeWe and Galeria as well as the Elbtower in Hamburg.
As interest rates, energy prices and construction costs rose, the nested company structure collapsed. Creditors have demanded a total of around 2.4 billion euros from Benko. However, the insolvency court has so far only recognized 47 million euros of this amount.
dpa
Source: Stern
