After the arrest of the Austrian real estate investor René Benko, the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) has requested pre-trial detention for the founder of the insolvent Signa Group. This was announced by the judicial authority in Vienna. The Vienna regional court now has 48 hours to decide on the application.
Benko was interrogated after his arrest, the WKStA said. The authority also ordered that he be transferred to a correctional facility.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the former billionaire was arrested because of the risk of committing a crime and the risk of concealment. According to investigators, the insolvent Benko is suspected of having hidden assets so that creditors, insolvency administrators and authorities have no access to them. Benko’s lawyer did not initially comment on these allegations.(dpa)