On Wednesday, René Benko unexpectedly appeared at the Innsbruck regional court. His personal bankruptcy was negotiated there. The claims against him amount to around two billion euros, of which only 47 million have currently been recognised.
The financial juggler claims he personally has no significant real estate holdings or relevant investments in Austria. In fact, Benko left his financial treasure dry years ago. With the help of foundations into which he transferred millions of dollars in Austria and Liechtenstein. His companion during these maneuvers: his mother Ingeborg.
The key to the safe
The Tyrolean curators are now looking for the key to the Benko vault in these foundations. Key questions: How did the many millions from the opaque Signa Group structure ultimately end up in the family’s privacy? And: How has René Benko benefited from this, even though he himself is not officially a beneficiary of the foundations he founded.
The Crown can shed light on the darkness of the foundation using an example: Existing confidential documents show that Benko is apparently not only the founder of his private foundation Laura, but above all: how millions from this foundation indirectly flowed back to the private individual René Benko. An example from December 2015 shows: One time there was discussion about 10.99 million euros, a few days later 15 million was given away.
The stroma
Central to the complex transactions involving lawyers, tax advisors and notaries was his mother, a now 73-year-old retiree. Benko’s stroma officially received millions from the Laura Private Foundation and transferred these millions from the foundation to her son. As a gift.
Most remarkable are the advice and warnings from René Benko’s advisors who guided this transfer carousel. Quoting from an email from Benko’s longtime lawyer Nikolaus Arnold to his client: “As has been said repeatedly, we must discourage donations directly to Mr. Benko.”
Explosive reason: René Benko could – as Benko’s lawyer feared years ago – be seen as the beneficial owner of the Laura Private Foundation instead of his mother. According to Benko’s cautious advisor, this would lead to announcements to banks and the financial sector.
For Benko’s administrators in Innsbruck, this would likely be a way to access Benko’s millions stored in this foundation, which could flow to René Benko’s creditors with such a key. Benko’s advisors seem to have recognized this risk years ago: “So that you do not immediately expose yourself to accusations of evasion in the field of donations, you should also consider whether you should structure the amounts differently.”
In plain language: To prevent the district transfers from being so conspicuous, the mother must divide the money officially given to her by the foundation and transfer it to her René in smaller parts.
Transfers to Privacy
The documents available to the “Krone” apparently prove for the first time that Benko, with the help of his advisors and his mother, may have set up a discreet money cycle in order to secretly, through the foundation and his mother, at least partially obtain the impressive amounts that he had officially contributed to a foundation back into his privacy. Lawyers and tax advisors provided the stirrup holder for the equestrian enthusiast, who purchased a million-dollar horse as a bonus through the Laura Foundation at the end of July 2023.
According to his own statements before the Innsbruck Regional Court, René Benko no longer has relevant assets. How could he do that when the foundation’s donations officially go to his mother? A retired kindergarten teacher.
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.
