Benko's confidants

How Gusenbauer and Co. cashed in before the Signa crash

Benko's advisory board member Gusenbauer benefited from large payments.

(Bild: APA/Roland Schlager/Hans Klaus Techt, stock.adobe.com)

From former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer to ex-Bank Austria boss Karl Samstag: who was still earning impressive fees before the collapse of the Signa Group. And when the last official advisory board meeting of financial juggler René Benko's group took place.

Anyone following the trail of money in the labyrinthine Signa empire will come across a remarkable number of dubious deals that took place shortly before the big collapse. As reported by Krone, René Benko not only ensured that his Liechtenstein Foundation would still be in possession of six luxury residences on Lake Garda in August 2023, but also allowed his close circle to benefit from large payments. The financial juggler's convoluted Signa Group conglomerate had already suffered from massive liquidity bottlenecks in 2023 - long before the crash.

Benko advisory board member Gusenbauer benefited from high payments.

(Bild: APA/Roland Schlager/Hans Klaus Techt, stock.adobe.com)

High fee for Gusenbauer
One of the potential profiteers was Alfred Gusenbauer, who was particularly highly rated and paid by Benko from 2009. The former chancellor collected around two million euros in consultancy fees in the year before Signa Holding's insolvency alone, half a million of which was still being paid in September 2023, just a few weeks before the first insolvency. In addition, according to research by "Krone" and "News", the former Chairman of the SPÖ (Social Democratic Party of Austria) received a little over 500,000 euros for his work as a member of the Advisory Board in 2023.

Last advisory board meeting in 2020
The proud salary for Gusenbauer's advisory board activities once again raises the question: Where was the performance? After all, the Signa Holding Advisory Board in the universe of sole ruler Benko apparently no longer met officially from 2021. Nevertheless, Gusenbauer's long-standing advisory board colleague Karl Samstag was also doing well: the former head of Bank Austria also received a good million euros in consultancy fees via a company.

Insolvency administrators and authorities will soon have to clarify the question of when the Signa Group was actually insolvent. And whether certain payments could have been made to the detriment of the many creditors. The question of de facto management will be at the center of the investigation: According to a wealth of available documents, René Benko is likely to have exercised significant influence on the group management all these years, although according to the company register, he has not held any official position in the entire Signa Group since 2013.

Shifts into the Laura sphere
Shifts of millions in the two to three-digit million range are likely to have been no rarity in Benko's corporate kingdom of darkness: according to research, just over 50 million could have flowed from the Signa Group to the Benkos' Laura Private Foundation. In addition, almost 200 million euros went to a Laura Holding and a good 120 million to a Laura Finance Holding. If Benko had actually been the de facto managing director of his Signa construct, he could be held personally accountable for numerous dubious transactions.