Dealing way too cheap? – Kika/Leiner: WKStA has Benko bargains in its sights

Vienna. Mariahilfer Straße 10-18. For decades the main building of the traditional furniture chain Leiner stood here. Today the shell of the Lamarr department store stands there, which symbolizes the decline of Signa like no other building in the capital. Work has been halted for 160 days.

The spectacular real estate deal around Christmas 2017 was recently closely investigated by the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecution Service (WKStA). In the middle: the bankrupt Tyrolean real estate speculator René Benko and a former top manager of Kika/Leiner. The suspicion: According to a criminal complaint available to “Krone” and “News”, they allegedly acted together to the detriment of the previous owner of the property, Kika/Leiner.

Potential damage worth millions
The accusation is that Benko persuaded the top manager of Kika/Leiner to sell the house far too cheaply to Benko’s real estate group. The Anzeiger: the new owner of the Kika/Leiner properties. The reportedly far too cheap sales in 2017 are said to have caused millions in damage.

As is known, the Kika/Leiner buildings were taken over by the Supernova Group from the German entrepreneur Frank Albert at the end of May 2023. A year later, the new owners naturally worked out the sale of the Leinerhuis to Benko in detail in 2017 based on the available documents. This concerns suspicions of infidelity and serious fraud. It is the presumption of innocence.

Political support from Kurz
Years ago, the research platform ‘Addendum’ revealed striking details about the spectacular 2017 deal. When Benko bought it shortly after Christmas 2017, there was even political support from the then newly inaugurated Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP). They influenced the land registry court to achieve an early settlement for Benko and later advocated this with a “service-oriented administration”.

Two more offers
“Addendum” had already reported that there was another bid for the sale of the nationally known Leinerhuis at Mariahilfer Straße 10-18, which was considerably higher than the 60 million euros offered by Benko: namely 90 million euros.

Today, the criminal complaint provides new details: there are even said to have been two higher bids. One of more than 70 million euros. One of more than 90 million euros. From the Wertinvest Group of entrepreneur Michael Tojner and from a subsidiary of the XXXLutz Group. Nevertheless, Benko was awarded the contract for 60 million. The 47-year-old Tyrolean was in charge of negotiating the deal during the Christmas holidays of 2017.

At the time, it was striking to close observers that Benko completed the super-cheap transaction of 60 million euros through his private foundation Laura, and not through his then entrepreneurial flagship Signa. Be that as it may, Benko’s private foundation Laura made an incredible deal with the department store purchase in a very short time: Benko’s Signa Group bought the property from the Laura Foundation about a year later, according to the current state of affairs, for 190 million euros .

Reservation in the land registry
Now senior prosecutors from the Public Prosecution Service for Economic Affairs and Corruption and Soko Signa investigators are apparently also interested in the real estate sector of that time. In any case, the current development does not bode well for the ongoing sales process of the store block originally planned as Lamarr department store:

Based on the complaint, a notice of the ongoing criminal investigation in the land registry was obtained. A circumstance that will likely act as a deterrent to those who might be interested in the Benko megalomania monument.