Benko's right-hand man

Italy: House arrest lifted for Signa man

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christof Birbaumer, zVg.)

Heinz Peter Hager, the Bolzano-based tax consultant and confidant of the fallen Signa founder René Benko, was released from house arrest on Tuesday. The other five suspects in the investigation into Benko's business dealings in Italy, who have also been under house arrest since December, are now also a thing of the past. 

The release from house arrest had been requested by the public prosecutor's office in Trento, as the investigations could drag on for some time. The South Tyrolean judge granted the request, allowing Hager to move freely again.

The other suspects were two South Tyrolean architects, a civil servant from the provincial capital of Bolzano, an entrepreneur from Rovereto and the former mayor of the Trentino municipality of Dro and ex-senator, Vittorio Fravezzi.

Benko under mafia suspicion
The public prosecutor's office in Trento suspected Benko of being the "leader of a mafia-like criminal organization", which was founded with the aim of obtaining concessions and permits in order to make unjustified profits, according to the investigation files.

According to the Italian judicial authorities, the Tyrolean investor acted at the head of this criminal organization with the help of the Bolzano tax consultant Hager and the aforementioned entrepreneur. A total of 77 people have been under investigation since December.

Pre-trial detention until the end of February
 Benko himself has been in custody in Vienna's Josefstadt prison since January 23. He was arrested on the premises of his Innsbruck office. His pre-trial detention was extended last week until the end of February. The economic and corruption prosecution accuses Benko of defrauding investors and harming creditors. 

Despite ongoing insolvency proceedings, which also affect him as a private individual, he is said to have attempted to conceal assets that still existed. For example, he is said to have concealed the fact that he continued to act as the "de facto ruler and beneficial owner" of the Laura Private Foundation.