Half -Marart sold a Benkos Foundation in Liechtenstein Golden shares worth a good 30 million euros. Researchers brought a new detention members to the game: risk of escape.
While René Benko is in custody and is waiting for his next court date, the researchers go in a new, shiny direction: 360 kilograms of gold, once bunkered in a Liechtenstein -Kluis, could be the next piece of the puzzle in an economic thriller. The most recent find is suspected of being suspected: not only for wealth was managed here, but possibly even veiled, shifted or hidden.
The foundation as a gold mine
According to the research by “Krone” and “News”, the Focus is again the INGBE Foundation in Vaduz, which is attributed to Benko and his family. A discreet message from Liechtenstein on March 14, 2025, the Austrian corruption researchers listened: only three days earlier, the foundation had sold more than 360 kilograms of gold worth around 30 million euros – according to researchers, without any clear economic reason.
It was rather a “practical” step, according to the public prosecutor: the gold was probably transferred to countries that are even further outside the access of the European authorities. In other words: a possible escape route. Not for financial juggler Benko, but for his assets.
Discreet reserves
As early as 2021, the INGBE Foundation showed the appearance of a treasury: Golden shares worth more than 81 million euros, spread over different banks, were in the vault according to research documents. Even after massive losses in the summer of 2022, the Golden Reserves Foundation would have obtained worth 45 million euros – at LGT Bank, the VP Bank and the Liechtensteinian Landesbank (LLB).
There were also liquid funds in cash, neatly divided into Swiss francs, US dollars and euros: 23 million euros on accounts, plus million in currency safe. So while the Signa empire in Austria hesitated, the foundation in Vaduz apparently continued to create quiet and calm reserves.
Researchers find escape plans
In the application to expand the U-Harth extension, the economic and corruption officer of Justice (WKSTA) now entails a new detention for the first time: the risk of escape. According to the accusation, Benko could stand out at any time in third countries with a private jet – and the necessary change for this has long been parked abroad.
Moreover, Benko is currently closely linked by his profession nor by his hometown. His mother, the preference for the foundation, can finance the international exile at any time. In any case, Benko has a “huge stimulus to flee,” says the document from the corruption researchers, which is available for the “Kroon” and “News”.
“Significant criminal energy”
And then there would be the original reason for detention: the risk of crime. The WKSTA notes in clear words: Benko has a “very important criminal energy”, tends “almost usually to mislead and” to show a striking little respect for the assets of others. “According to researchers, it is how deep the deception system could be seen sufficiently in the leading role that has been consistently veiled over the years, which Benko held in the Signa Group and various foundations.
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.
