Former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, who worked for René Benko’s Signa Group from 2009, apparently wanted to turn a blind eye to the meetings of the now ailing company.
René Benko’s Signa group has suffered the largest bankruptcy in post-war Austria, worth billions of dollars. Hordes of criminals, lawyers and accountants are currently trying to shed light on the darkness of a complex enterprise that has made deliberate concealment a principle.
It is becoming increasingly clear to investigators that financial juggler Benko was pulling all the strings until shortly before the collapse. It is still unclear what role the supervisory board, some of which had prominent members, played in the Signa group’s key companies.
Close your eyes and continue?
Did the inspectors, who were well-paid by Benko, take their role seriously? Or is the 2014 meeting, which lasted barely ten minutes in the elegant six-star Chalet N am Arlberg, symbolic of the failure of Signa’s internal oversight?
‘Krone’ research shows that at least one prominent supervisory board member must have turned a blind eye several times. In the true sense of the word. Of all people, Benko’s closest confidant and millionaire advisor Alfred Gusenbauer, who headed various supervisory boards until the spring of 2024, obviously did not always take his role at Signa meetings very seriously.
Two photos leaked to the Crown clearly show the former Chancellor taking a short nap. Both photos are from 2019. At one point, former Raiffeisen Bank International boss Karl Sevelda can be seen on the sidelines. At another time, former casino board member Karl Stoss. In contrast to former Prime Minister Alfred Gusenbauer, both Signa supervisory boards appear relatively alert.
Flying transfer to Signa
In December 2008, just two weeks after leaving the chancellor’s office, Gusenbauer had a contract with Benkos Signa Holding ready to be signed, which would guarantee him an annual base salary of approximately the chancellor’s salary (280,000 euros). starting in February 2009. Exclusive bonus payments. For one week’s work per month.
Shortly afterwards, the now 64-year-old former politician was appointed head of the supervisory boards of Signa Prime and Signa Development, which, like Signa Holding, had collapsed under billions of euros in debt by the end of 2023.
The former SPÖ chancellor made international headlines in the autumn of 2023: At the time it became known that he had invoiced Signa Holding a total of twelve million euros in the years 2020 to 2023 alone for consultations in connection with the turbulence at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof.
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.
