Can the trustees of the bankrupt René Benko open the private foundations? Perhaps the remarkable horse deals of the financial juggler are a key to this.
For René Benko, the happiness of this earth also lies on the backs of noble horses. At least from a financial perspective. Current research not only shows that Benko wanted to add his first million-dollar horse to his foundation stable almost three years ago; New documents also show how deeply the now bankrupt Signa himself was involved in wild speculative transactions of his private foundation Laura with the German equestrian elite.
Benko’s role in the investments
The ‘Krone’ already reported on the two show jumping horses ‘Chageorge’ and ‘Just Be Gentle’, which Benko’s Laura Private Foundation acquired in the Signa crisis year 2023 for 2.38 million euros each. There are now increasing indications that the founder of Signa would invest in the stallion “Mumbai” as early as the autumn of 2021. Again, the deal would run via his Laura Foundation, which Benko officially wants nothing to do with, as his lawyers constantly emphasize. This claim may be intended to protect the hundreds of millions hidden in the Laura Private Foundation from the access of the Benko trustee. In fact, Benko personally had a lot to do with the horse investments of the Laura Private Foundation, as can be seen from documents available at the “Krone” and “News”.
“We as a foundation…”
The Austrian financial juggler apparently gained access to the elite German horse world through his ties to Otto Becker, the national trainer of German show jumping horses. Becker and those around him may also have recommended ‘Mumbai’ to Benko. Why else would real estate speculator Benko write the following email to a close confidant of Otto Becker (name known to the editors; note) on November 17, 2021:
Subject: Mumbai
“I am pleased to confirm to you once again that we as a foundation are making the investment definitive I will do.
The investment will be made by a 100% subsidiary of the foundation – as we see this as a commercial investment – do you have experience with paying back the VAT – we certainly do not want to invest the VAT as well and as this is a professional investment and not a hobby of mine “That should be possible.”
Benko also wanted to optimize his horse speculation from a fiscal perspective.
“Collaborating in a completely new segment”
Benko then explains which passage in the contract – which was formally intended for a subsidiary of the Laura Private Foundation – still needs to be changed. He then states: “Formally, the foundation will have its next board meeting on Friday, November 26, at which the foundation board will decide on the conclusion of the contract.”
For Benko, a decision by the foundation board was apparently just a formality. He concludes with the words: “I am looking forward to working together in a completely new segment. Kind regards from Tyrol.”
Apparently Becker then referred his new business friend Benko to the equestrian legend Ludger Beerbaum, in whose stable and possession the grey “Mumbai” was at the time. A few months later, four-time Olympic champion Beerbaum wrote:
“Dear Mr. Benko, enclosed you will find the purchase contract that has now been definitively signed. Thank you again, I look forward to working with you.”
Further recommendations to be “more broadly positioned”
This deal marks for him just the beginning of a Benko offensive in a “completely new segment”. Beerbaum will soon recommend further horse investments to the million dollar juggler Benko:
“To be positioned a bit more broadly alongside Mumbai and also to be able to fully participate in the Global Champions Tour events both on the road to the 2024 Paris Olympics and in the coming years, it may make sense to invest in other potential candidates or .
In 2023, Benko will have ‘Just Be Gentle’ and ‘Chageorge’ purchased through the Laura Foundation. For ‘Mumbai’ and ‘Just Be Gentle’, Benko should even receive a ‘business plan’ as a basis for Beerbaum’s investment decision in the spring of 2023, so that the noble horses can be included in the balance sheet of a subsidiary of Laura.
Predictions for five years
Research in Beerbaum’s environment showed that even five-year forecasts had been made: for ‘Mumbai’, which according to experts is now worth around five million, the Beerbaum company speculated with an annual turnover between 300,000 and 400,000 euros. The income would be divided 50 percent each between Benko’s Laura Private Foundation and Beerbaum. Only Beerbaum has to pay any costs.
Noteworthy: the ‘business plan’ was personally addressed to ‘Mr. Although, according to his lawyers, René Benko is neither an organ nor a beneficiary of the foundation and he would prefer to have as little to do with the foundation as possible, which contains real estate values in the three-digit million class.
Benko’s curators are keeping a close eye on all revelations about the Signa founder’s rides for the Laura Private Foundation: in 2023, millions will be invested in horses. And in March 2024, insolvency proceedings will be opened against Benko’s own assets, in which he will suddenly find himself without money. Creditors have filed claims of around two billion euros against the bankrupt speculator.
The administrators now want to tackle the Benko foundations for the creditors of René Benko via the court. The horse speculation can be a key to this.
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.
