Austria sentences former Signa head René Benko to another two years — Der Spiegel

The Innsbruck Regional Court in Austria sentenced Signa Group founder René Benko to an additional two years in prison in a case involving serious fraud. The court found it proven that the former billionaire caused an investor losses of €5 million. The verdict has not yet entered into force, Der Spiegel reports.

Guarantee for a private fund

According to the court, Benko deceived the private fund of industrialist Hans Peter Haselsteiner by providing the investor with a false guarantee of repayment. Benko and Haselsteiner, the former head of construction group Strabag, had long been business partners.

Austria’s Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office claimed that in early November 2023, Benko urgently needed money for the sporting goods retail subsidiary Sportscheck. According to the prosecution, it was Benko’s guarantee that prompted Haselsteiner’s fund to provide multimillion-euro financing, although he allegedly had no serious intention of repaying the funds.

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The 49-year-old Benko rejected the accusations. At the same time, Haselsteiner, who testified as a witness, stated that he would not have provided €5 million without Benko’s promise to repay the money.

Previous sentence and acquittal

The new term is in addition to the two-and-a-half-year prison sentence imposed on Benko in September in a case involving harm to creditors. At the time, the court concluded that he had paid a €360,000 advance for the rental of real estate in Innsbruck when the financial condition of his Signa business empire was already critical.

Benko was acquitted on the second count in the current case: the court could not prove that he had concealed from creditors a luxury hunting rifle worth €80,000. Benko is in custody, but since mid-October he has been allowed to live in a private apartment with an electronic bracelet. Investigations into Signa’s collapse are continuing in Austria, Germany and other countries.