After the insolvencies in the Signa Group, René Benko is facing the next problem. Lichtenstein has now initiated criminal proceedings against the billionaire.
Vaduz – The problems for Signa founder René Benko don't stop. After the insolvency of Signa Holding and the associated bankruptcy filing, the Austrian businessman now apparently has to worry about criminal law as a private individual.
A big bang for René Benko: Lichtenstein public prosecutor initiates criminal proceedings against Signa founders
Finally, Lichtenstein opened criminal proceedings against the billionaire. The principality's public prosecutor's office confirmed this to
Insider Paradeplatz
, without explicitly mentioning Benko's name. “At the request of the public prosecutor, preliminary investigations are being conducted at the Princely Regional Court against a natural person and against unknown perpetrators on suspicion of the crimes of fraudulent Krida and money laundering,” explained the lead public prosecutor, Fran Haun, to the Swiss financial medium. Krida refers to the “fraudulent or grossly negligent causing of insolvency by a debtor”.
Criminal proceedings against Benko: Lichtenstein initiates “independent domestic proceedings”.
This is an “independent domestic procedure,” explains the lead public prosecutor, Fran Haun, to the Swiss financial medium. The authorities in Vienna and Munich began investigations some time ago. The Austrian investigators have formed a special commission - the SoKo Benko - for this purpose.
Liechtenstein is “currently not part of the coordinated investigation group,” Haun continued, emphasizing: “The presumption of innocence applies.” The public prosecutor did not provide any insight into the exact content of the investigations, even at
Insider Paradeplatz
. The public prosecutor is also keeping a low profile as to exactly what Liechtenstein is investigating, so he did not provide any information about the current status of the criminal proceedings initiated against René Benko. “As the proceedings currently stand, no information is provided on the specific status of the investigation, nor on legal entities.”
Criminal proceedings against René Benko: Focus on the foundation of the founder of the insolvent Signa Group?
Already on Wednesday (April 10th) the
Kronen
Zeitung reported on a foundation in René Benko's orbit that
had
emerged during research in Lichtenstein. Her name “Arual” reads backwards like the name of Benko’s daughter Laura. The name of a well-known Swiss banker appears in the story: Eduardo “Edi” Leemann, the long-time head of the Falcon Bank, where Benko had huge fortunes and which has since gone under.
The
Kronen-Zeitung
speculates about Arual as a “protective wall” for Benko in the event that his other vehicles go bankrupt. Then recourse to the Arual would no longer be possible.
After the insolvencies of the Signa Group: criminal proceedings against René Benko another chapter
It is not an easy task to keep track of René Benko's insolvent corporate empire: at the end of November, Signa Holding was the top group company and filed for bankruptcy, after which the investors filed a criminal complaint. At the end of December, Signa Prime and Signa Development were insolvent, meaning that the two main core companies went bankrupt.
In mid-March, Signa founder René Benko filed for personal insolvency in Innsbruck and went to bankruptcy court, and at the end of March the Benko family private foundation, also based in Tyrol, in which the now worthless Signa shares are parked. It is burdened with an astonishing amount of debt: 1.14 billion euros. And with the criminal proceedings that have apparently been initiated in Lichtenstein, René Benko's deep fall probably does not end, but is expanded to include a new chapter.