Real Estate Signa founder René Benko must be remanded in custody
The former Austrian real estate investor René Benko has been remanded in custody. This decision was announced by the regional court in Vienna on Friday.
24.01.2025, 16:01
SDA
The founder of the insolvent Signa Group had been arrested in Innsbruck the previous day. A spokeswoman for the court stated that the reasons for the arrest were "risk of conspiracy and risk of committing a crime".
The Austrian Economic and Corruption 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. Benko did not give any details of the allegations before the regional court in Vienna, the spokeswoman said.
Benko is the subject of a number of investigations in Austria, Germany and Italy, including allegations of fraud, embezzlement and bankruptcy. His lawyer has denied the allegations.
Suspicion: deception through a kind of money carousel
The WKStA suspects Benko, among other things, of having deceived Signa investors through a kind of money carousel. He allegedly enticed the investors to make payments by referring to his own financial commitment.
According to the WKStA, he passed off some of the investors' sums as his own contribution to the capital increase by transferring them across several companies. According to the authorities, an Italian villa of the Signa Group was also transferred to a family foundation close to Benko without sufficient payment.
Former Globus co-owner
The entrepreneur, who was considered a multiple 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.
In Switzerland, Benko is best known as the former co-owner of the Globus department store chain. This was transferred to his Thai partner Central Group last fall. The Globus properties were not part of the transaction. For the time being, these remain half owned by Central Group and half by Signa.
Receivables of over 2.4 billion
In the wake of rising interest rates, energy prices and construction costs, the complex 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 sum.
