Today, Thursday, March 7, 2024, René Benko probably experienced his bitterest hours yet: the founder of the complex Signa Group, who has been listed as a multiple billionaire by ‘Forbes’ for years, had to file for bankruptcy at the court in Innsbruck, because the “Krone” learned from court circles. This means that the 46-year-old entrepreneur is also bankrupt as a private individual.
The financial public prosecutor’s office, which as lawyer for the Republic had already filed for bankruptcy against Benko at the beginning of this year, got the ball rolling. This concerns debts to Finanz amounting to approximately two million euros.
A third installment for renovation was due
Moreover, the real estate speculator did not owe the promised third million he had to raise to restructure his Signa Holding, which had gone bankrupt. The second of the three announced installments that were originally promised to the curator had already come ‘from a third party’.
On February 13, there was a first hearing before the Innsbruck District Court in the absence of the financial juggler. At the time, only his lawyers were on site. The deadline for submitting documents on the Tyrolean’s possible assets passed on March 5.
Private assets are often stored in foundations
Financial juggler Benko not only created a complex, opaque corporate group of more than a thousand companies, but also liked to invest his private assets in foundations. However, according to the secret annual accounts, the two Austrian foundations, the Family Benko Private Foundation and the Laura Private Foundation, no longer had any significant liquidity – as of the end of 2022 – given their size. At least not compared to the year before.
However, in Liechtenstein the INGBE Foundation still exists, which is attributed to Benko and his mother Ingeborg. The only beneficiary would be Benko’s daughter.
The parliamentary investigation committee announced on Wednesday that Benko earned almost 26 million euros in 2019.
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.
