2024-06-26 05:19:14
A big-scale operation by investigators is presently underway at René Benko’s villa in Igls, Austria. That is reported by Austrian media.
The villa of constructing contractor René Benko is presently being searched in Innsbruck-Igls, Austria. Benko’s lawyer Norbert Wess confirmed this to the “Tiroler Tageszeitung”. On the similar time, the Signa headquarters in Vienna shall be searched. In keeping with ORF, the police referred the matter to the Financial and Corruption Prosecutor’s Workplace (WKSta). The incident might subsequently be related to Benko’s Signa enterprise.
The Austrian Financial and Corruption Prosecutor’s Workplace is investigating Benko, a Signa firm and one other individual for fraud. Particularly, this issues the alleged feigning of the Signa Group’s financial efficiency and willingness to pay when extending a financial institution mortgage.
Benko had change into a multi-billionaire by way of actual property offers and due to the low rate of interest section. On the similar time, he had tried his hand at brick-and-mortar retail in Germany by buying Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. Nevertheless, when rates of interest rose once more in 2023, his empire started to falter. Bankruptcies had been the consequence. The ex-billionaire is presently being investigated for numerous suspected crimes.
In Germany, the general public prosecutor’s workplace is already investigating the multi-billion-dollar Signa chapter München on suspicion of cash laundering and attainable insolvency offenses. The Munich prosecutors are involved with different German public prosecutors, they stated. The occasions surrounding Signa have additionally introduced prosecutors into motion in Austria.