As of: March 6, 2024, 9:24 p.m
By: Max Schäfer
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René Benko is the focus of a new investigative committee in Austria.
Topic: abuse of power.
His empire should be examined.
Vienna – René Benko is the focus of an investigative committee in Austria.
“Where is the water damage, how extensive is the water damage?” said SPÖ MP and co-initiator Jan Krainer at the start on Wednesday, March 6th.
The investigation is intended to examine the suspicion that billionaires like Signa boss Benko are said to have received preferred money from a Corona aid fund thanks to the influence of the ÖVP.
The focus is on billionaires who have supported the ÖVP through donations or whose financial support the ÖVP would have liked to have.
Green MP Nina Tomaselli explained that it was about “how we can protect the country from super-rich shell players”.
Investigative committee investigates support for René Benko's company
René Benko is in the spotlight of the U-Committee, which was initiated by Krainer and FPÖ man Christian Hafenecker.
The committee primarily wants to examine Benko's companies Signa Holding, Laura Privatstiftung, Signa Luxury, Schlosshotel Igls and Chalet N.
René Benko in focus: Corona aid payments to the billionaire are now the subject of an investigative committee in Austria.
(Archive photo) © Marcel Kusch/dpa
According to the Kronen-Zeitung,
MPs Nina Tomaselli and David Stögmüller (both Greens) have
applied for files from the Ministry of Finance on all of these companies.
The ministry provided parts of the files, but refused to pass on the documents relating to Chalet N and the private villa because they were not attributable to Benko.
René Benko is said to have received 18.7 million euros from the state for his companies
According to the Crown
report, Benko's now largely insolvent empire
received 18.7 million euros from the Cofag agency responsible for the Corona aid fund.
A large part of it went to the Kika/Leiner Group, which received 91 million euros between 2020 and 2023.
Bankruptcy followed in 2023.
The liberal party Neos wants to pay particular attention to this.
According to
the Kronen-Zeitung,
there are indications that Benko only took over the group in 2018 because he was concerned with the real estate, but not to secure the 5,000 jobs.
The ÖVP-FPÖ government at the time claimed the latter.
Benko was originally scheduled to testify in the investigative committee on Thursday, March 7th.
However, his lawyer canceled the appointment.
The performance is now planned for April.
Then Benko himself has to comment on his business practices.
In order to mitigate the economic effects of the Covid pandemic, the coalition of the ÖVP and the Greens, which has been in power since 2019, founded the federal agency Cofag.
According to its own information, it has so far paid out around 15 billion euros to 236,000 applicants.
In a 2022 report, the Court of Auditors criticized a lack of expertise and possible over-funding.
In October 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that the transfer of tasks to Cofag was unconstitutional.
(ms/dpa)