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Reuters
09-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Austria suspects woman helped fallen property tycoon Benko hide assets
VIENNA, May 9 (Reuters) - Austrian prosecutors said on Friday they had placed a woman under investigation on suspicion of helping property tycoon Rene Benko hide assets from administrators and creditors dealing with his real estate group Signa's collapse. Benko has been in custody for more than three months as the Central Prosecutors' Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) continues its investigation into whether assets that should have gone towards paying back creditors were hidden in a trust of which his immediate family are beneficiaries. Benko has denied the allegations made against him. The WKStA said it had carried out raids in relation to the case on Friday at two locations in Tyrol, the mountainous state in western Austria where Benko lived and founded Signa. The reason for the raids was that the existing investigation was broadened to include the woman, it said, without naming her. "She is suspected of having helped Signa founder Rene Benko conceal valuable items, thus putting them beyond the reach of administrators and creditors, thereby preventing or reducing the satisfaction of creditors," the WKStA said in a statement. "She is thus suspected of having contributed to the possible criminal offence of insolvency fraud," it added. It did not say whether she had been detained. Benko, 47, became a billionaire by tapping 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 went into liquidation, with administrators trying to salvage what they could of creditors' investments.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
