Wolfang Peschorn, president of the Financial Public Prosecutor’s Office and therefore de facto lawyer for the Republic, once again criticized the procedure surrounding René Benko’s ailing Signa construction in “ZiB 2” on Tuesday evening. However, Peschorn clearly said no to a job as Minister of Justice.
After the turquoise blue coalition collapsed in the summer of 2019, Wolfgang Peschorn served as Minister of the Interior in the civil service government under Brigitte Bierlein. However, the ‘Lawyer of the Republic’ vehemently denies that he can now acquire ministerial honors again: ‘I do not want to become Minister of Justice.’ The fact that he wants the job is “far-fetched.”
“Many people no longer understand that.”
The president of the Financial Prosecutor’s Office repeated just as vehemently to moderator Armin Wolf on Thursday what he had already criticized several times against the “Krone”: the lack of control over the Signa construct. The largest bankruptcy of the Second Republic has not only been a concern of the judiciary since the day before yesterday, but so far the results have been manageable.
Peschorn also said this to the “Krone”: “Many people no longer understand this, who adhere to the legal rules and can expect that dubious processes will be clarified in the foreseen procedures and that those responsible will have to be held accountable.”
“Danger of a parallel world, a signal two”
“What does Mr. Benko do and where have the assets gone?” Peschorn said of ORF. If you don’t know this, there is a danger of building a parallel world, perhaps a signal two. He expressed concern that “assets currently existing in the Signa conglomerate” could be transferred to a new “structure” – for example linked to existing foundations. “These are dangers and they need to be addressed,” he said.
It is also important not to see the whole as ‘one allotment garden next to another’, according to Peschorn, ‘but as a large house with thirty rooms, into which you have to look everywhere.’ And again he wondered whether the current self-managed restructuring process was suitable for the task.
Liquidator: “No error in the system”
As expected, Signa trustee Andreas Grabenweger on Wednesday denied Peschorn’s statements to the APA about a lack of insight into Benko’s actions and assets: “Of course I am aware,” he said. It is known where Benko lives and works. He has “a regular income. The attachment-free part is transferred to a collection account.”
For example, the fact that Benko still lives in his villa in the Igls district of Innsbruck has to do with the fact that Benko only has to release “what he earns” and not “what he gets from third parties” – such as from family members. “That sounds unfair and is difficult to understand. But if someone thinks they have to support their bankrupt family member, he or she is free to do so,” Grabenweger said. This is also “not a system error” because otherwise there would be “a restriction of the interests of third parties”. In “normal circumstances” this makes perfect sense.
Secretly working on a ‘Signa Two’, as Peschorn feared, was ‘quite possible’, the curator admitted, adding: ‘But he is not allowed to do that with his own assets.’ However, the question is whether anyone would follow the record. Bankrupt leaves so much money behind again…
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.
