The former real estate agency René Benko will not be released from custody before his criminal trial.
The Vienna Regional Court continues to assume urgent suspicion and risk of act, it said in a statement by the court. The custody for the Austrian founder of the insolvent Signa Group was temporarily extended until the beginning of October.
The 48-year-old has been in custody for more than six months. Austria’s business and corruption prosecutor (WKStA) pursues 13 investigative lines around Benko and other Signa managers. Among other things, it is about suspicion of fraud and infidelity.
An initial charges against the ex-billionaire was raised in July: Benko accuses WKStA of having asset assets as sole proprietors to the disadvantage of the creditors in his bankruptcy. The penalty framework is one to ten years in prison. The process will take place in Benko’s hometown Innsbruck. An appointment is not yet clear, said a spokeswoman for the court.
Benko could have another indictment. The WKStA has already completed a project report on a further procedural strand, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office of the German Press Agency without naming. The Austrian news agency APA had previously reported about it. The decision about a possible second indictment lies with higher -level judicial authorities.
Benko had built up a nested company network in the low interest rate phase. The Signa Group invested in well-known real estate and companies, including in the Hamburg Elbtower, the Galeria Warenhaus Group and the Luxury department store KaDeWe. In addition to internal problems, Signa was brought down from rising interest rates, energy prices and construction costs.