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Austria’s public prosecutor has filed criminal charges against René Benko, the tycoon who founded collapsed real estate group Signa, accusing him of insolvency-related fraud.
The charges, filed in Vienna on Tuesday, accuse Benko of concealing and misusing assets worth €660,000 to the detriment of creditors in his personal insolvency case.
Prosecutors allege that Benko, who has been in detention since January, made an unjustified €360,000 advance rental payment and donated €300,000 to relatives while his financial collapse loomed.
The charges carry a potential prison sentence of one to 10 years and form part of the wider sweeping investigation into one of Europe’s most spectacular corporate implosions. A corresponding indictment has been filed with the Innsbruck Regional Court.
The Financial Times has previously reported that Austrian, German and Italian prosecutors were probing Benko over potential aggravated fraud, embezzlement and misrepresentation of assets.
Benko, who remains in pre-trial detention, denies all allegations. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Among the most contentious transactions under scrutiny is the €46mn sale of an Italian villa to a Liechtenstein foundation linked to Benko’s mother. Authorities have claimed the estate was swapped for equity in a Signa subsidiary, which became worthless when the company filed for bankruptcy months later.
The empire of Benko, once lauded for amassing a portfolio of trophy assets, including half of the Chrysler Building and a stake in British retailer Selfridges, failed under the weight of €5bn in debt.
Prosecutors allege that while Signa was collapsing in late 2023, Benko continued to stash assets, concealing luxury items such as €8mn worth of furniture and a €90,000 Patek Philippe watch.
The rapid unravelling of Signa caught out global banks, sovereign wealth funds and family offices that lent more than €15bn to companies in the group, which also owned almost all of Germany’s biggest department stores.
It embroiled Julius Baer, one of Switzerland’s biggest banks, which has faced scrutiny over its exposure to Signa.
The indictment is the latest development in a complex web of legal actions involving more than a dozen individuals and entities, with total alleged damages now topping €300mn.
