The next big bang in the investigation into René Benko’s insolvent Signa Holding. In addition to the allegations in Germany and Liechtenstein, there is now talk of suspected fraud in Austria for the second time – an Austrian bank is said to have been deceived, again with millions in damages.
According to information from the “Krone”, a further investigation was initiated by the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA). Explosive: Benko himself is listed as a suspect here. Next to him is another Signa manager and Signa Prime Holding GmbH as a company. The specific accusation in the case: An Austrian bank was deceived about the Signa Group’s financial situation when granting a loan in the summer of 2023. The WKStA literally calls this “fraud due to alleged pretense of solvency when extending bank loans.” 25 million euros in damage. At this point – the WKStA suspects – everyone involved should have already been aware that such a loan would no longer be repaid will be able to. The damage resulting from this alleged deception is estimated at more than 25 million euros. In detail, there is a suspicion that Benko himself worked for Signa as the “de facto managing director”, conducted financing discussions himself and also conducted correspondence with the banks himself. “Fraud, infidelity, fraudulent Krida” The background for these investigations is a complaint from Attorney Johannes Zink. When asked by the “Krone”, he did not want to give a substantive statement on ongoing investigations. Johannes Zink: “I can only confirm that our law firm has filed several criminal complaints for various victims in the Signa case. This is about fraud, infidelity and fraudulent crime.” Is it possible to be in custody? The presumption of innocence still applies to Benko and Co. However, judicial insiders are now expecting new coercive measures – for example (further) house searches would be possible. But pre-trial detention can no longer be ruled out, it is said. For example, there could be a risk of collusion and a risk of escape. For lawyers, everything is “completely baseless.” Benko’s lawyer Norbert Wess has now at least confirmed the public prosecutor’s personal investigations against his client. He has inspected the files, knows the allegations made therein and rejects them as “completely baseless”. For Benko, this is not the first case that has been brought against him personally. The Munich public prosecutor’s office is investigating suspicions of money laundering – this was also rejected as “baseless” by Benko’s Munich lawyer Florian Ufer.
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