After the bankrupt billionaire was jailed, from Thursday in Innsbruck everything will revolve around the question of whether the curator of the Signa founder can crack the foundations.
The air becomes thinner for René Benko and the soup becomes thicker for the public prosecutor. In recent months, investigators from several countries have gathered remarkable details about the financial juggler’s so-called money carousel and backed it up with incriminating statements from fellow investors. Two former backers of the financially ailing Signa project were recently questioned in Switzerland, and another made a statement in Vienna before Christmas.
To the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption, which requested the arrest of the Tyrolean billion-dollar company on Thursday.
String masters in the Laura Shadow Realm
While René Benko is in solitary confinement with video surveillance in the Vienna-Josefstadt prison, the detectives investigate the new finds that have come to light during the searches surrounding the arrest of the financial juggler. Benko is accused of pulling strings even after the collapse of his Signa group. Especially the Ingbe (Liechtenstein) and Laura (Innsbruck) foundations, which are considered the family treasury.
Officially, the Tyrolean, just like the Signa, has no organ function. Nevertheless, numerous ‘Krone’ investigations have shown that Benko may have played an important role as de facto ruler in both money bunkers.
Some of Benko’s harsh rebukes to directors of Laura Foundation subsidiaries from 2024 have been handed down: “Are you mentally ill?”
Officially, three people play a role in the shadowy empire called Laura Private Foundation: Benko’s pilot Christof Jauschnegg, who is considered a close confidant of several family members. The Viennese lawyer Stefan Makas. And the Austrian investment banker Thomas Limberger. The latter has been acting as the new CEO since December; he took over this role from Heinz Peter Hager, who had to be placed under house arrest as part of the anti-mafia investigations in South Tyrol.
The trial begins at the Innsbruck Regional Court
Limberger has also already become acquainted with the judiciary. In 2021, he was involved in a German mask affair in which former politicians allegedly collected millions through foreign accounts. Ultimately there was an acquittal.
At the Innsbruck Regional Court, Benko’s curator Andreas Grabenweger is now trying to crack the Benko treasuries named Laura and Ingbe. The first hearing on the dispute is scheduled for next Thursday. The big question is: is Ingeborg Benko, a 74-year-old retired kindergarten teacher, just a ‘straw mother’ at the base?
It can be assumed that mother Benko will initially behave as her son did before the Viennese court on Friday: silently.
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.
