René Benko denies his bankrupt Signa Holding a promised subsidy of 1.01 million euros.
Apparently, the financial juggler has recently taken the legal position that after the loss of self-management at the parent company Signa, he only has to pay around two, but not the agreed upon three, million euros from his bankrupt company.
According to research by the “Krone” it is confirmed by the spokesman of the curator: the case is “under legal investigation by the curator”. As is known, Viennese lawyer Christof Stapf has been charged with handling the largest bankruptcy in Austrian economic history since the end of November 2023.
Real estate speculator Benko had initially promised a subsidy of three million euros. In December, 1.145 million euros flowed in as part of a ‘subsidy guarantee’ – from Benko itself. On January 8, another 845,000 euros arrived – from a third party. The remaining 1.01 million euros was announced in early February.
Chilled relationship
According to reports, the relationship between Stapf and the founder of the opaque Signa Group has now become seriously cold. According to Signa insiders, Stapf recently paid a flying visit to Villa Ansaldi on Lake Garda, which would have served for years as the representative office of Benko’s Signa Holding in Italy. There, the trustee marked the furniture with which, in his opinion, money could be made to limit the losses of Signa Holding’s many creditors.
And where is Benko himself? Signa connoisseurs want to know that the Signa founder was last in his Chalet N in Oberlech. There was apparently not enough time to attend the first court hearing in the insolvency proceedings that the Republic of Austria had personally initiated against Benko. His lawyers have until March to submit new documents to the court in Innsbruck.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
