The Signa bankruptcy leaves behind many innocent victims. Multimillionaires fear losing several million of their assets. The Tyrolean Signa caretaker René B., on the other hand, now has to commute business class to St. Tropez instead of taking a private jet. The Viennese photographer Niklas was also ripped off by the bankrupt concrete mafia. With an outstanding claim of 1,819.60 euros, Niklas is one of the smallest creditors. Can we get his money back from scammer René?
Since November 29, 2023, the life of 27-year-old photographer Niklas from Vienna-Meidling has no longer been the same. “Signa files for bankruptcy”. The young self-employed person remembers this push message from ORF.at with a shudder. René Benko has since owed him 1,819.60 euros.
1,819.60 euros – for a Signa consultant like Alfred Gusenbauer, that’s just three minutes of working time between amuse-gueule and the first course. However, for a young self-employed person, such a sum means hard, honest work. For him, a world collapses, just like the Signa empire did after a small adjustment of Euribor to its historical norm.
Explosive list
The daily press accesses the secret list of Signa Holding’s creditors through dark channels. It features celebrities like Danielle Spera, trustworthy companies like “MIDDLE EAST TRUSTED ADVISORS LTD.” from Abu Dhabi (no joke), as well as renowned advisors like Alfred Gusenbauer, Gusenbauer Alfred, Fredl Gusenbauer, Alf G. Usi, Freddy Goosenpower and Fredérique Quousenbouer.
Even René Benko’s own private foundation wants money from him. In the empire’s last gasps, René can no longer even trust Benko. In turn, he gets the wrong IBAN under stress and, according to the Financial Times, mistakenly transfers 315 million to “Laura Finance Holding GmbH” and “Laura Holding GmbH”. Both companies are also on the list of creditors and are owned by the “Laura Privatstiftung”, a charitable association that takes care of the Insta-likes of millionaires’ daughters. We find dozens of other Laura GmbHs in the company register.
When the dust clears, all that remains is a private jet flying away and countless creditors fighting for their money. The Daily Press contacted more than a dozen of them and asked for their personal stories. Niklas is one of the smallest creditors in Austria’s largest insolvency case.
Signa & Niklas
But why does Signa owe the Viennese photographer any money? Well, just for photos. He photographed the unveiling of the name of the ruined building “Kaufhaus Lamaar” on Mariahilferstrasse. The photos themselves were never published; it was probably just a matter of conveying a glamor feeling through the presence of a photographer. “Was everything just a facade at Signa back then, should I have seen it all coming?” asks Niklas.
Then Niklas photographed some Signa employees planting trees in Styria. His photos were later found in the company’s own sustainability report, which, according to research, only slightly more trees were used for printer paper than were planted.
2024-02-20 13:11:58