There are numerous complaints against René Benko and the insolvent Signa Group. According to experts, things could get legally tight for the Austrian ex-billionaire. A questioning of Benko has meanwhile been cancelled.
According to his lawyer, the Austrian investor René Benko and his insolvent Signa Group are constantly confronted with new advertisements. By mid-February, 37 so-called statements of facts against the real estate and trading entrepreneur and Signa companies had already been submitted to public prosecutors in Austria, he wrote to the Austrian Parliament. Now the number is probably significantly higher.
Benko remains silent
In the letter, a questioning of the ex-billionaire planned for today by a parliamentary committee of inquiry was also canceled at short notice because Benko did not have an overview of all the legal allegations. The entrepreneur could not answer questions in parliament because he would risk getting into a conflict between the obligation to tell the truth and the right to refuse to testify, according to the letter, which was available to the German Press Agency.
Benko’s appearance before the so-called COFAG investigative committee was actually eagerly awaited. The manager, who was once celebrated as a success, has not once publicly commented on the decline of the Signa Group he founded. Since a wave of bankruptcies began to roll through his intricate network of companies last year, he has avoided all public events.
The investigative committee was set up by the opposition to shed light on the alleged preferential treatment of super-rich people like Benko, who have ties to the conservative ÖVP chancellor party. After Benko’s rejection, the questioning of a former high-ranking tax official about tax proceedings by the Signa Group is still on the agenda today. Two other finance officials were questioned in Parliament yesterday. However, they did not provide any evidence of tax preferential treatment for Signa companies.
“Numerous references to criminal offense”
According to the highest legal representative of the Republic of Austria, things could get legally tight for Benko. “I would sleep very restlessly,” said Wolfgang Peschorn, President of the Financial Procuratorate, referring to the former real estate tycoon. There are currently “numerous indications of criminal offenses” surrounding the spectacular decline of the Signa Group. Benko was described by investors as a “de facto managing director”. He was therefore probably the driving force.
In Germany, the Munich public prosecutor’s office has confirmed investigations into suspected money laundering in connection with the Signa Group. Austria’s corruption prosecutor’s office is investigating, among other things, whether Benko tried to bribe the former Secretary General of the Finance Ministry with a lucrative job offer. Benko’s lawyers have denied these allegations.
In times of low interest rates, the 46-year-old had built up an opaque company network, which includes, among other things, the unfinished Elbtower in Hamburg and the now insolvent department store brands KaDeWe and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. Until a few months ago, Benko was still considered one of the richest Austrians. However, with interest rates, construction costs and energy prices rising, the Signa Group largely collapsed. Now a trustee is supposed to sell the assets.
Financial Procurator thinks bankruptcy is the better way
The Austrian Financial Procuratorate is convinced that the restructuring plan adopted for this purpose is the wrong approach. The promised quota of 30 percent for creditors can only be achieved if there is a “striking market recovery” for real estate, said Peschorn, who represents the legal interests of the Republic as head of the financial prosecutor.
He maintains that bankruptcy would have been the cleaner solution. Such a break-up under the direction of an insolvency administrator would also have had the aim of making the best possible use of the existing assets and, on top of that, would have guaranteed that those previously responsible for the disastrous development at the Signa Group would definitely no longer have any say.
Peschorn complained about a very limited willingness to provide information on almost all sides. “There is a lack of enthusiasm when it comes to coming to terms with the circumstances.” It should be questioned on the basis of which specific considerations a restructuring plan was approved in which there was not even money available for the insolvency administrator’s salary at the time of the decision.