As is known, the bankruptcy of Signa not only led to several bankruptcy proceedings, but also to criminal investigations against real estate juggler René Benko. The public prosecutor’s offices of Vienna, Munich and Liechtenstein are involved. A ‘real estate shadow kingdom’ built up by Tyrolean confidants has apparently gone completely unnoticed – until now!
According to Handelsblatt research, some of Benko’s closest confidants have “built a shadowy real estate empire” under the umbrella of the Laura Private Foundation – founded in 2006 by René Benko and his mother. These structures are reportedly located outside Signa Holding.
The portfolio, which is said to have been prepared for the Benko family, includes old buildings in Chemnitz, Halle and Leipzig, as well as villas in Austria and the extremely popular Berlin Chocolate House. The property with 6,000 square meters of floor space offers the owner “great potential for long-term value appreciation,” according to a press release from real estate agent Savills in 2019 on the occasion of an ownership transfer of the building known as “Charlotte” in Berlin-Mitte. At the time, only an unnamed ‘foundation’ was appointed as the new owner.
Creditors could focus on a ‘parallel empire’.
This ‘parallel empire’ has thus far remained completely untouched by the Signa chaos. “But that could change quickly,” writes the “Handelsblatt” and suggests that creditors have now also targeted two branches of the Laura Privatstiftung. One name keeps coming up in the course of the investigation: “Signature August” Marcus Mühlberger, about whom krone.at has already reported several times. The 61-year-old was once head of finance at Raiffeisen Bank. In 2003, the Austrian joined Signa Holding and quickly became one of the most powerful men in Benko’s empire. He is said to be a director or partner in more than 100 companies – and he is also involved with the Laura Private Foundation, which many investors could see as a potential conflict of interest.
Documents available to the Handelsblatt show that only a few years ago, Benko had “personally” inquired about the affairs of companies and joint ventures linked to the private foundation. But who the actual beneficiaries are is still not entirely clear. According to the deed of incorporation, these are close relatives of René Benko. But he doesn’t want to be one of them.
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.
