“Billion-Monopoly” – Green accounting with the Benko system

They wanted answers about how this bankruptcy could happen, but also what politicians and administration could do better in the future, Tomaselli said. She identified four factors that contributed to Benko becoming “a billionaire with castles in the air,” until the entire edifice finally collapsed.

“Billionaire Monopoly” by Signa
The Green Party described Signa’s business model as a “billion-dollar monopoly” that exploited the potential of international accounting to inflate real estate values ​​to excesses. This worked as long as interest rates were low and the overall forecast for the real estate market rose sharply. Not only investors were harmed, but also German and Austrian taxpayers and numerous small suppliers, according to the dubious motto ‘Privatize profits, socialize losses’.

Secondly, some people looked away too often, others liked to play along. Tomaselli specifically mentioned former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) and Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP). The third factor she mentioned was the banks and their lending practices, and the fourth factor was glitz and glamor as part of the business model that literally lulled politicians to sleep, even if some – the Greens refer to tax officials and journalists or even themselves – had warned early on.

Ideas for improvements, criticism of Brunner
The Greens’ concrete suggestions for improvement include measures to prevent the outflow of assets to the ‘fundamental paradise’, an end to the hide-and-seek games on the balance sheet and adequate resources for financial administration. Tomaselli also targeted Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP). This should answer the question of how great the damage to the republic actually is, how high Benkos Signa’s ‘tax bill’ is and what will be done to keep taxpayers harmless. “Unfortunately, the ÖVP continues to find it difficult to step on the toes of those who put themselves above everyone else’s rules,” she criticized the coalition partner’s hesitation about legal consequences.

ÖVP counters
The Ministry of Finance, led by Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), saw things differently: “Of course” lessons would be learned from the case, the ministry said in a written statement. Reference was made to the group database announced in February, which will provide a better overview of the company networks in the future. From the perspective of the black Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice led by the Green Party Alma Zadić should also take action and modernize the commercial register to make the connections more easily visible and understandable.