The former real estate tycoon René Benko was arrested in Austria.
The founder of the insolvent Signa Group is suspected of having hidden assets towards creditors: inside and authorities, it was said by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) in Vienna. The reason for the arrest was both a risk of crime and the risk of blackout, the authority said.
Benko was arrested in his villa in Innsbruck, writes the “Kronen Zeitung”. In addition, there were several house searches in Benko’s office, in a noble chalet in Lech am Arlberg and his residence.
In Germany, too, the former billionaire is being investigated. According to WKSTA, it is about a suspicion of the so -called Franz project at the Bahnhofsplatz in Munich. Benko and another suspect are said to have made a foreign state fund to invest in the office, residential and commercial building with bonds. However, the proceeds of the bonds are said to have been used in a large extent, according to the investigators.
With young age promotion to the billionaire
The WKStA has recently formed an investigation team with the public prosecutors Berlin and Munich I. As a result, it was possible to determine more unbureaucratic and efficiently cross -border, it said by the Austrian authority.
Benko, born in Innsbruck in 1977, began to renovate attic. He left the business high school without a degree and entered the real estate business. That was the start of a spectacular promotion to multiple billionaire, who was also happy to court by politicians.
Requirements for Benko over 2.4 billion euros
With his Signa Group, the Austrian entrepreneur had built up a large portfolio, which also included the German department store groups KaDeWe and Galeria and the Elbtower in Hamburg.
In the course of increasing interest, energy prices and construction costs, the nested company construct collapsed. According to the insolvency administrator, the sum of the claims to Benko adds up to around 2.4 billion euros.
Benko claims to be insolvent, but again and again he caused reports about his luxurious lifestyle. The public prosecutor was on his heels: his phone calls were monitored, his news traffic was evaluated, and his business partners: inside and employees: Interior were interviewed.
According to WKStA, the investigation showed that Benko had hidden as part of his personal bankruptcy proceedings, that he actually had control over a family foundation.
Benko is said to have also fake an invoice to deprive three valuable firearms before access by creditors: inside, insolvency administrators: inside and authorities. Watches and other assets were also hidden or sold without adequate payment. Investors were deceived by a “money carousel” as part of a capital increase. Benko’s lawyer did not comment on the allegations.
Further investigations in Germany and Italy
The Italian judiciary had recently issued an arrest warrant against Benko. The public prosecutor’s office of the Northern Italian city of Trento justified this with investigations into real estate speculation in the Trentino region and the neighboring region of South Tyrol. However, the arrest is not related to the Italian arrest warrant.
The Berlin public prosecutor’s office is investigating Signa, among other things, for suspicion of subsidy fraud, money laundering or bankruptcy. The numerous subsidiaries are said to have transferred loans to each other in order to gloss over the economic situation. The investigation is directed against Benko and the managers of the suspected daughters. According to the authority, it is the largest investigation that has ever been managed there. With the arrest in Vienna, however, it is not in direct context. (dpa)