2024-04-13 08:57:40
The former boss of the bankrupt real estate group Signa cannot calm down. He is now being investigated criminally in a principality.
The founder of the Signa real estate group, which has run into financial difficulties, René Benko, is apparently being investigated in criminal proceedings. However, this is said not to have opened in its home country of Austria, but in Liechtenstein.
As the Swiss financial portal “Inside Paradeplatz” reports, this has been confirmed by the authorities. “Based on the public prosecutor’s office, preliminary investigations are being conducted at the Princely Regional Court against a natural person and against a legal entity as well as against unknown perpetrators on suspicion of the crimes of fraudulent bankruptcy and money laundering,” senior public prosecutor Frank Haun is quoted as saying.
Although the investigator kept a low profile about the contents, there are likely connections with another foundation of the former Galeria owner. As the “Krone” reported, the “Ingbe Foundation”, which is based in the principality, took over two villas from the Signa empire shortly before the collapse.
Another foundation called “Arual”, also in Liechtenstein, is said to own, among other things, the Villa Ansaldi in Italy through intermediate companies. Aerial photos show that the property on Lake Garda is equipped with a marina and a helipad. Annual rent: around 420,000 euros.
Signa’s decline began in December
According to research by the “Krone”, both foundations are owned by the Austrian real estate juggler. A large part of his assets are already invested in foundations, although his “Family Benko Private Foundation” has already filed for bankruptcy. The “Laura Private Foundation”, founded by René and Ingeborg Benko and named after Benko’s daughter, is still active.
At the end of November 2023, Signa Holding filed for bankruptcy. A month later, Signa Prime and Signa Development ran into difficulties and had to file for bankruptcy. In mid-March, Signa founder René Benko had to go to bankruptcy court. Some of the Signa shares were apparently deposited in the “Family Benko Private Foundation”. After the bankruptcy, these are worthless; according to “Krone”, the damage is said to be 1.14 billion euros.
The foundation should be able to stop the flow of funds in the event of a crisis
In order to limit the damage, according to research by the “Krone” and the “News” portal, Benko is said to have built a kind of protective wall in Liechtenstein with two foundations. The “Arual Foundation” – Laura read backwards – is said to have been founded in 2008 by the Austrian “Laura Privatstiftung”.
The protective wall is supposed to work like this: So far, the “Arual Foundation” has been able to donate assets to the “Laura Foundation”. According to research, there is a passage in a by-law that redirects this flow of money: If the Laura Foundation goes bankrupt, the money from Liechtenstein would be available to “natural persons”. It is unclear who that could be. According to the report, the information came from a report prepared by the tax consulting firm TPA and one of Benko’s companions.
People from the Signa Group are already being investigated in Germany on suspicion of money laundering. The responsible public prosecutor’s office in Munich confirmed in March that relevant criminal complaints would be investigated. Other German authorities are also involved in the investigation.
His lawyer rejected the relevant allegations against Benko in the “Tagesspiegel”. “The theses and allegations made in previous reporting are unfounded,” Munich lawyer Florian Ufer told the newspaper.