Connection to Cyprus

How Benko’s private luxury chalet was financed

Rene Benko's Chalet N in Oberlech raises many questions.(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Karl Schöndorfer, Andreas Fischer)

Chalet N from the realm of real estate juggler René Benko is known to have been used for business and family purposes. Nevertheless, it received 1.2 million euros in coronavirus funding. New information shows how a letterbox company from Cyprus made the construction of Benko's luxury hideaway in Lech am Arlberg possible in the first place.

The stately Chalet N now stands on the site of the former "Schlössle" in Oberlech in Vorarlberg. The letter N stands for Natalie - the first name of Benko's wife. On paper, this complex presents itself as an exclusive hotel, but in reality it is mainly accessible to a select circle of connoisseurs - mainly due to its exorbitant prices. Locals report that the chalet is more often deserted than inhabited.

It is an open secret that the Benko family are often the only guests. If the name Benko is on it, then there is an opaque company construct behind it. This is also the case with Chalet N: it is part of the corporate empire of "Muxel Berggasthof Schlössle GmbH", which in turn belongs to Benko's Laura Private Foundation through a network of shareholdings.

Question of financing
One detail that is less in the limelight is the question of the financing of the luxury hotel. A contract from the audit of Muxel Berggasthof Schlössle GmbH available to the parliamentary sub-committee reveals that in 2011, a considerable 8.5 million euros were transferred for the conversion of the "Schlössle" into Benko's Chalet N by a mysterious company, "Lech Participations GmbH" based in Vienna.

This company, which was liquidated in 2017, is the focus of the U Committee. NEOS parliamentary group leader Yannick Shetty has now been able to identify the owner of the questionable company. It is particularly explosive that the 8.5 million euros in question originally came from another letterbox company, Globalbasis Limited, based in Cyprus.

The Greek shipowner and billionaire George Economou is behind Globalbasis Limited. He was half owner of Signa until 2015. It is astonishing that Benko already needed a financial contribution in the millions from his partner for Chalet N, even though he was already on his way to becoming a euro billionaire at the time. At the age of 40, Benko is said to have exceeded the billion-euro mark, according to the magazine "Trend". 

Rene Benko's Chalet N in Oberlech raises many questions.(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Karl Schöndorfer, Andreas Fischer)

NEOS criticize
"The Benko system shows how clever contacts with politicians and the financial administration can be used to your own entrepreneurial advantage. Unfortunately, in Austria it's who you know, not what you can do, that counts. It is absolutely incomprehensible why the tax authorities did not take notice earlier. Why can favourites like Benko get away with things that are absolutely unthinkable for all honest taxpayers?" criticizes the NEOS parliamentary group leader in the U Committee, Yannick Shetty.