Already next Monday it will be decided again whether René Benko records should stay in custody. A release must be unlikely. The much more urgent question is when the economic and corruption officer of Justice finally files charges against the former Juggler of Real Estate.
The Tyrolean investor has been in custody before January 24. Eventually on April 27 the decision would have been made to extend custody, now the decision will be made next Monday, the Vienna Regional Court and the WKSTA confirmed on Friday. The reason: Benko’s lawyer is said to have submitted a claim.
WKSTA assumes the expansion of liability
However, the chances of success for this are low. “The economic and corruption officer of justice based on current research results assumes that the requirements for detention would continue to exist before the process,” the WKSTA noted.
“That is why the Economic and Corruption Officer of Justice also applied for the continuation of René Benko’s pre-trial detention of the Regional Court for Criminal Affairs Vienna.” However, the much urgent question when Benko will finally be charged was left open. Media reports, according to which this should already occur in April, have not been confirmed. But: “The research is in full swing,” said the WKSTA.
“Money Carousel” could be the first indictment
On the focus of the researchers: the ‘money carousel’ of the entrepreneur, about which the ‘Kroon’ reported several times, but also his confidants. In the course of a capital increase of his signa possession, which had already been battered at the time, Benko would have specified 35 million euros to attract financially strong investors. In fact, the money would have been withdrawn from another Signa company, beyond different stations and spent on their own money.
The former business partner of Benko substantiated this accusation in various testimonies. The Swiss entrepreneur Arthur Eugster, for example, reported that Benko had proposed with a good example in a capital increase. At Eugster it was then decided to pay “because it was said that everyone (the Signa Shamolder, Note) is participating,” said the founder of the company.
Benko’s lawyer had recently tried again to get his prominent client out of custody in the Josefstadt prison. An application for house arrest in Benkos Wiener Penthouse on the meat market was also made, which the judge rejected. The reason: risk of action. The regret of Benko does not seem to be convinced in the judiciary.
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.
