Real Estate Tycoon Faces Fraud Probe as Police Search Home and Offices

Austria’s Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) has been conducting an investigation into fallen real estate mogul René Benko for several months. Recently, the public prosecutor’s office conducted a search of his villa and offices in Innsbruck to determine the extent of the allegations against him. The search was led by police patrols, officers from a special task force, and minibuses, with a drone used to survey the property during the search. The purpose of the search was to secure any potential evidence, as confirmed by Benko’s lawyer to the magazine “Profil”. It was noted that the officers acted professionally during the search and Benko was cooperative.

The investigations against Benko were initiated by WKStA in the spring. He is accused of fraud in relation to an extension of a 25 million euro bank loan last summer, among other charges. The accusations include allegations of concealing Signa’s financial situation, leading to searches at multiple locations including Benko’s family’s residences, offices in Innsbruck and Vienna, and former senior employees of Signa Group. During these searches significant amounts of data were collected including documents, cell phones, tablets and USB sticks. WKStA did not provide any comments on ongoing investigation.

It has been reported that there are suspicions that investor funds were not utilized as promised for various projects within Signa group. There are already two pending proceedings before WKStA that are not directly linked to Signa’s insolvency. One proceeding involves individuals associated with a Signa company filing a voluntary disclosure for failing to pay capital gains tax on a dividend distribution. The other proceeding involves investigations into former Ministry of Finance official Thomas Schmid who testified that Benko offered him a lucrative management position at Signa in exchange for tax relief in ministry finance department . These multiple ongoing investigations have prompted questions about timing of recent raids and potential impact if evidence may have been destroyed in intervening months.