12 hours ago
Austrian prosecutors say they have wrapped up initial investigation into Signa
VIENNA: Austrian anti-corruption and economic crime prosecutors have wrapped up their initial investigation into the collapse of the
Signa
property empire and filed a report so that a decision on potential prosecutions can be made, they said on Tuesday.
In a statement, they said there were four new strands, including an investigation into Signa founder
Rene Benko
and persons unknown on suspicion of favourable treatment to a creditor over a roughly 15 million euro ($17.4 million) repayment relating to a loan to Signa Prime at a time when that Signa unit was insolvent.
Other investigations involve alleged fraud relating to rental of a luxury chalet in the Austrian alpine village of Lech and a 17 million euro loan to Signa Holding, as well as allegations of inflated prices in a Viennese residential project.
Benko has previously denied allegations made against him.
The Austrian property magnate has been in custody since January and is accused of trying to hide assets from insolvency administrators and creditors.
Signa Holding filed for insolvency in November 2023, triggering a domino effect across its vast retail and real-estate portfolio with holdings ranging from the Chrysler Building in New York to shares in British department store company Selfridges.
On Tuesday Signa's insolvency administrators said they have arranged for out-of-court negotiations to begin from October to clarify liability issues in an attempt to avoid lengthy and costly court proceedings.
The aim is to reach agreements by the end of 2025, they said.
