Austria swoops on former property tycoon Rene Benko
Self-made billionaire who went bankrupt after Signa’s collapse is suspected of trying to hide assets from insolvency administrators and creditors
23 January 2025 - 21:38
by Francois Murphy
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Austrian property tycoon Rene Benko appears before a parliamentary commission in Vienna, Austria, May 22 2024. Picture: REUTERS/LISA LEUTNER
Vienna — Austria has arrested Rene Benko, the founder of fallen property group Signa, on suspicion of trying to hide assets from insolvency administrators and creditors, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Benko, 47, was arrested at his villa in Innsbruck early on Thursday, Austrian media reported.
His lawyer, Norbert Wess, did not reply to a request for comment on the allegations. He said a court would need to decide within 48 hours whether his client should remain in custody. Benko has previously denied allegations made against him.
A self-made billionaire, Benko tapped low interest rates to rapidly expand his business, acquiring stakes in prestigious properties from Britain’s Selfridges department stores to the Chrysler Building in New York.
When the tide turned, Signa became the biggest casualty of Europe’s property downturn and Benko went bankrupt. Key parts of his empire entered insolvency proceedings or liquidation, with administrators trying to salvage what they could of creditors' investments.
Austria’s Central Prosecutors’ Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) said there was a risk of Benko committing a crime, and that he was suspected of secretly controlling and being the beneficiary of a trust named after his daughter.
“He thus concealed assets and kept assets in the trust beyond the reach of the authorities, administrators and creditors,” the WKStA said in a statement which also revealed a new investigation of Benko in Germany.
Noting it had formed a joint investigation team over Signa with prosecutors in Berlin and Munich, the WKStA said it had opened a fraud probe into Benko and an unnamed person.
They are suspected of inducing managers of a foreign sovereign wealth fund to invest in a “Project Franz” in Munich through bonds. Much of the investment was used for another purpose, it said.
The trust under scrutiny controls a range of expensive assets including the Innsbruck villa. Its beneficiaries include Benko’s wife and children, shielding the assets from his insolvency proceedings.
Prosecutors said “the accused is suspected of having concealed assets such as high-priced weapons, watches and other items or sold them without adequate compensation, thereby preventing or reducing the satisfaction of creditors”.
Benko is suspected of drawing up a receipt after the fact and falsifying evidence to keep three highly valuable guns beyond the reach of authorities and creditors, they said.
The anticorruption office has various probes under way relating to Signa and Benko. Last April it opened an investigation into the entrepreneur on suspicion of fraud.
A judge in Italy has also ordered the arrest of Benko and eight others as part of a probe into alleged corruption of politicians in that country, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last month. Afterwards, Austrian authorities said they were not planning to arrest him.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Austria swoops on former property tycoon Rene Benko
Self-made billionaire who went bankrupt after Signa’s collapse is suspected of trying to hide assets from insolvency administrators and creditors
Vienna — Austria has arrested Rene Benko, the founder of fallen property group Signa, on suspicion of trying to hide assets from insolvency administrators and creditors, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Benko, 47, was arrested at his villa in Innsbruck early on Thursday, Austrian media reported.
His lawyer, Norbert Wess, did not reply to a request for comment on the allegations. He said a court would need to decide within 48 hours whether his client should remain in custody. Benko has previously denied allegations made against him.
A self-made billionaire, Benko tapped low interest rates to rapidly expand his business, acquiring stakes in prestigious properties from Britain’s Selfridges department stores to the Chrysler Building in New York.
When the tide turned, Signa became the biggest casualty of Europe’s property downturn and Benko went bankrupt. Key parts of his empire entered insolvency proceedings or liquidation, with administrators trying to salvage what they could of creditors' investments.
Austria’s Central Prosecutors’ Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) said there was a risk of Benko committing a crime, and that he was suspected of secretly controlling and being the beneficiary of a trust named after his daughter.
“He thus concealed assets and kept assets in the trust beyond the reach of the authorities, administrators and creditors,” the WKStA said in a statement which also revealed a new investigation of Benko in Germany.
Noting it had formed a joint investigation team over Signa with prosecutors in Berlin and Munich, the WKStA said it had opened a fraud probe into Benko and an unnamed person.
They are suspected of inducing managers of a foreign sovereign wealth fund to invest in a “Project Franz” in Munich through bonds. Much of the investment was used for another purpose, it said.
The trust under scrutiny controls a range of expensive assets including the Innsbruck villa. Its beneficiaries include Benko’s wife and children, shielding the assets from his insolvency proceedings.
Prosecutors said “the accused is suspected of having concealed assets such as high-priced weapons, watches and other items or sold them without adequate compensation, thereby preventing or reducing the satisfaction of creditors”.
Benko is suspected of drawing up a receipt after the fact and falsifying evidence to keep three highly valuable guns beyond the reach of authorities and creditors, they said.
The anticorruption office has various probes under way relating to Signa and Benko. Last April it opened an investigation into the entrepreneur on suspicion of fraud.
A judge in Italy has also ordered the arrest of Benko and eight others as part of a probe into alleged corruption of politicians in that country, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last month. Afterwards, Austrian authorities said they were not planning to arrest him.
Reuters
Did Elon Musk give the Nazi salute or was he just enthusiastic?
Bloomberg Philanthropies to cover US climate dues after Paris withdrawal
‘We shook empires’: Hindenburg Research founder shuts short-seller firm
EDITORIAL: Musk’s overreach
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Did Elon Musk give the Nazi salute or was he just enthusiastic?
Bloomberg Philanthropies to cover US climate dues after Paris withdrawal
‘We shook empires’: Hindenburg Research founder shuts short-seller firm
EDITORIAL: Musk’s overreach
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.