In 2023, a former Israeli intelligence officer spied on René Benko’s old trade strategist. The use of questionable methods. The “Krone” knows the background.
The most important information is known. René Benko and his Signa conglomerate have suffered by far the largest bankruptcy in post-war Austrian history. The structure, which was as opaque as it was complicated, collapsed at the end of 2023 under a debt burden worth billions. Since then, armies of lawyers, investigators and restructuring administrators have worked to tackle an insolvency unprecedented in scale and complexity.
What is undisputed is that René Benko was the head of a Signa juggernaut, which he controlled to the end, until his demise in 2023, even though he had lost all organ functions ten years earlier, after his criminal conviction. There are now hundreds of pieces of evidence of Benko’s intensive involvement. It has also been proven that the now 47-year-old Tyrolean, who wanted to give the impression that he no longer has anything to do with his foundations since his bankruptcy as an entrepreneur in early March 2024, apparently continues to control his family’s money bunkers.
Now the affair surrounding a financial juggler who, as a real estate speculator in the heyday of his Signa Group, even wanted to compete with the English royal family is taking on a new dimension.
Mafia-like methods
Because: Research by ‘Krone’ and ‘News’ shows that René Benko may not only have crossed all boundaries economically for years; He also crossed red lines on a human level and obviously paid little attention to the legal framework. He had been spying on a confidante who had been close to him for years. He used mafia-like methods that are otherwise only known from feature films. Apparently he didn’t trust anyone anymore – at least towards the end. Not even his closest confidantes anymore.
On January 10, 2024, René Benko received an email to his Signa email address, which is still active two months after the Signa Holding crash. The attachment is called: “Scan Mr. Buller”. The PDF document contains very explosive content.
The 39 pages contain private financial details relating to the very personal life of a former Signa chief strategist. It’s about Dieter Berninghaus, Benko’s old advisor in the trading department. The bundle contains financial information about Berninghaus that cannot be obtained through normal, legal means. Even business assignments for which Berninghaus’ wife is responsible are included. But also: all the details about the company’s stock portfolio, which Ms. Berninghaus manages as CEO.
Cancer disease
To grasp the dimensions of these activities in their entirety, you have to take a step back – to May 2023. At that time, a few months before the final demise of the non-transparent Signa Group, said Signa trading expert Dieter Berninghaus reported that he was already in trouble in the Signa universe. Not for nothing: Berninghaus suffers from cancer and all doctors strongly advise him to undergo examinations and operations in England and the US as soon as possible.
But Benko no longer trusts his old confidante Berninghaus. He, who, according to former companions, sometimes gave the impression that he could walk on water, has clearly lost all grip on the ground. That’s why Benkos Signa commissions an internationally sought-after intelligence operations specialist: Moshe Buller, a former senior agent with Israel’s domestic secret service Shin Bet, who struck out on his own years ago with a group of former secret service agents.
Buller’s company, International Intelligence Agency (IAA), operates through offices in Israel, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. The US office is located in the Chrysler Building in New York. Buller is a rather offensive representative of his secretive guild: he sometimes appears at conferences such as the World Police Summit. His name also appears on the website of the organization “World Economic Council (WEC)” with an address in the center of Vienna. Buller is called an ‘ambassador’ there, a representative of Israel.
Confidential banking information
Buller seems well connected. He delivers. More than René Benko had dared to hope for. The 39-page bundle (“Scan Mr. Buller”) that the Signa founder views on January 10, 2024 even includes invoices to Ms. Berninghaus’s landscape architects. In addition: a complete overview of the most recent share transactions of a Berninghaus company at a Swiss regional bank. This involves a deposit worth several million Swiss francs. It is clear that dishonest methods are being used to infiltrate the highly personal, deeply private life of a longtime Signa executive and to spy on the Benko store steward.
Research by “Krone” and “News” shows that René Benko received this bundle on January 10, 2024 – and deleted it from his inbox shortly afterwards – for a good reason.
Eye-catching fees
The accountability for these absurd activities by Israeli secret service specialist Moshe Buller was apparently carried out by a long-standing Benko trust lawyer: Stefan Prochaska, who already advised Benko in the Canon proceedings.
Stefan Prochaska even documented several service invoices in his official fee notes to Signa Holding, which are available to “Krone” and “News”. He wrote to Signa Holding, controlled by Benko, which for years operated as the ultimate core company, higher five-figure fee statements, which include not only references to “conversations with (the) investigator” but also dramatically high cash amounts. expenditures used for borderline activities could have been.
At least two of these major 2023 legal bills have been transferred to law firm Prochaska, according to an internal statement. What is sensitive in this context is the email communication between Signa Holding director Marcus Mühlberger and the chief controller of the Signa Group, who monitored the payments to Prochaska.
Mühlberger asked about two months after Signa Holding was declared bankrupt under the topic “Prochaska”: ‘Do you have the documents for his registration? Thank you.”
Signa’s financial manager then responded: “He has not made any claims…. He probably knows why…’
“Stunned and extremely shocked”
When asked, ex-Secret Service agent Moshe Buller confirmed that his company had conducted “investigations into Mr. Berninghaus.” However, the office of Benko’s lawyer Prochaska was only something like “a first meeting room” – “and nothing more”. He ‘never met’ Mr Benko.
Benko’s lawyer Stefan Prochaska left a request unanswered.
Berninghaus, who was spied on, said through his legal representative: “Dieter Berninghaus and his family are stunned and extremely shocked by the facts that have come to light here.” These now need to be analyzed in detail. “The family therefore cannot comment on possible legal action at this time.”
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.
