Signa bankruptcy

Benko denies his holding company one million euros

If René Benko has his way, the bankruptcy of his Signa will cost him one million less.(Bild: EPA)

René Benko is denying his insolvent Signa Holding a promised subsidy of 1.01 million euros.

Apparently, the financial juggler has recently taken the legal position that he only has to put around two million euros on the table of his bankrupt company after the loss of self-administration at the Signa parent company, but not the agreed three million euros.

Corresponding research by "Krone" is confirmed by the spokesperson of the restructuring administrator: The matter is "under legal review by the insolvency administrator". As is known, the Viennese lawyer Christof Stapf has been entrusted with handling the largest insolvency in Austrian economic history since the end of November 2023.

Originally, real estate speculator Benko had committed to a grant of three million euros. In December, EUR 1.145 million was paid as part of a "subsidy guarantee" - still from Benko himself. On January 8, a further 845,000 euros arrived - from a third party. The remaining 1.01 million euros were then announced for the beginning of February.

A chilly relationship
According to reports, the relationship between Stapf and the founder of the opaque Signa Group is likely to have cooled considerably in the meantime. According to Signa insiders, Stapf recently paid a flying visit to Villa Ansaldi on Lake Garda, which is said to have served as Benko's Signa Holding's Italian representative office for years. There, the trustee in bankruptcy marked the furnishings that, in his view, could be turned into money to reduce the losses of Signa Holding's many creditors.

No time for court hearings: René Benko (archive photo)(Bild: Theo Klein / BILD)

And where is Benko himself? Signa insiders want to know that the Signa founder was last seen in his Chalet N in Oberlech. There was obviously not enough time to attend the first court hearing in the insolvency proceedings brought by the Republic of Austria against Benko personally. His lawyers have until March to submit new documents to the court in Innsbruck.