René Benko, the founder of Austria’s collapsed property group Signa and the country’s eighth-richest person in 2023, has been arrested at his villa in Innsbruck, his lawyer has confirmed.
The 47-year-old was taken into custody on Thursday morning following an order from Austria’s Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA), according to his lawyer, Norbert Wess.
Signa, Benko’s property empire, filed for insolvency in 2023 in what became one of the largest bankruptcies in Austria’s financial history. Benko also declared personal bankruptcy.
The WKStA said Benko was detained over concerns that he might tamper with evidence or commit further offences. Prosecutors claim he is suspected of “falsifying an invoice and attempting to conceal assets to evade authorities, insolvency administrators, and creditors.”
“In particular, René Benko is said to be, among other things, the de facto controlling figure and economically entitled person of the Laura Private Foundation, a fact he is alleged to have concealed during his personal insolvency,” the WKStA said in a statement. This conclusion arises “from the results of intensive investigations over the past few months, particularly a wiretap, an analysis of the defendant’s communications, and statements from business partners, management, and employees.”
According to the WKStA, Benko “allegedly fabricated an invoice after the fact, thereby falsifying evidence in an attempt to prevent authorities, insolvency administrators, and creditors from seizing three high-value firearms.”
Benko is also embroiled in a corruption investigation in neighbouring Italy, where an arrest warrant was issued for him last month. However, the Innsbruck Regional Court ruled against his extradition at the time, calling it unlawful.
As the group continues to sell off its assets, its insolvency administrator has confirmed the sale of a historic building in central Vienna. The property houses Austria’s Constitutional Court and, until the end of 2024, the Bank Austria Art Forum exhibition space.
