The economic and corruption officer of Justice accuses René Benko of the fraudulent Krida, as is just known. A corresponding indictment was made by the Regional Court of Innsbruck. It is now certain that the fallen real estate juggler will be tried in Tyrol in this procedure. The punishment is a maximum of ten years in prison.
It is the first indictment in the Signa Process Complex, which includes different strands – we have reported. In the center of the indictment there is an unusually high rental advance payment: on October 6, 2023, only a few weeks before the bankruptcy wave in the Signa Group, Benko transferred 360,000 euros to RB Immobilienverwaltungs Gmbh & Co KG, which owner of the Villa in Hungerburg. In addition, there were at least 175.175.96 euros for operating costs, furniture and equipment.
Villa was uninhabitable
Explosive: According to researchers, the villa was currently uninhabitable. A slope had led to water damage. The criminalists stated in their final report: “So the question remains why a rental advance and the payment of the operating costs were just made in those months in which the house apparently was not habitable anyway.”
The course of the money transfer also seems interesting. On October 5, 2023, only one day before the rent, Benko received 500,000 euros from the Laura Private Foundation of the Benkos. The next day he sent 360,000 euros to RB Immobilienverwaltungs GmbH & Co KG. Shortly thereafter, another 340,000 euros flowed to the same company. From there, in turn, 300,000 euros were rejected to the Laura Private Foundation.
Payment to “Straw mom”
The second point of the indictment concerns a payment of 300,000 euros to the Motherborg of Benko. In the final report of the Soko Signa of 19 May 2025, it is stated in detail on 54 pages how the money transfer worked.
In short, it is about a payment of 29 November 2023. At that time, 300,000 euros from the private account of René Benko flowed to his mother. Benko wrote about the transfer: “Return Loan”.
In fact, the researchers are convinced that this was a wrong reason for payment. The financial juggler is accused of bringing the 300,000 euros to safety for the creditors shortly before his own bankruptcy.
Sitting boys in U-detention
René Benko has been in custody in the judicial facility of Vienna since January 2025. The WKSTA continues to follow the allegations of serious fraud, unfaithfulness, financing abuse and the faith of creditor – further charges.
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.
