Austrian real-estate tycoon Benko must remain in custody, court rules
A court in Vienna ruled Monday that Austrian former real-estate investor René Benko, who is under investigation for fraud, must remain in pre-trial detention.
Benko, 47, must remain in custody for at least another two months. The founder of the insolvent real estate and trading group Signa had applied for his release.
However, the Vienna Regional Court refused this. The court stated that there was still strong suspicion and a risk of re-offending.
He was detained in January and held in custody in Vienna. The Austrian Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) accuses the entrepreneur of concealing his personal assets in connection with the fall of his real-estate holding.
He is suspected of embezzlement, fraud and bankruptcy.
Investigators assume that Benko tricked investors into making contributions by pretending that a Benko family foundation would also participate in a Signa capital increase.
In reality, however, they say, Benko channelled investors' money through a 'money carousel' and passed it off as his own contribution.
According to the WKStA, Benko is also said to have hidden assets from authorities, creditors and insolvency administrators.
The entrepreneur is also under investigation in Germany, Italy and Liechtenstein. His lawyer has so far rejected the accusations against Benko.
Benko had built up a convoluted network of companies during the low-interest phase. He invested in Germany's Galeria department store group, the Berlin luxury department store KaDeWe and the Elbtower project in Hamburg.
In addition to internal group problems, Signa was brought down by rising interest rates, energy prices and construction costs.
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