10 questions before the trial

Could René Benko be released in Innsbruck?

René Benko is said to have set aside assets via an advance rental payment for the villa in Innsbruck's Hungerburg district (pictured).(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Johanna Birbaumer, APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH, Krone KREATIV)

On Tuesday, record-breaking bankrupt René Benko goes on trial. The trial is taking place amidst a huge media rush and two trial days have been scheduled. The "Krone" answers the ten most burning questions. 

1. what is the first trial against Benko since the Signa bankruptcy about?
First of all: the trial starting on Tuesday is a relatively small part of the big Signa puzzle that the responsible Soko is putting together on behalf of the Economic and Corruption Prosecution Office (WKStA). 

Benko is accused of having set aside money shortly before the start of the Signa bankruptcy tsunami - and in particular in view of his impending personal bankruptcy - and thus preventing or reducing the satisfaction of his numerous creditors.

2 What role does the Hungerburg villa mentioned in this context play? 
 Shortly before the major Signa crash at the end of 2023, Benko, who was living in a luxury property in Igls with his family at the time, obtained a second home in Innsbruck: in October 2023, he had an advance rental payment of 360,000 euros organized via confidants and his sister in order to provide a 385-square-metre villa with a 1,000-square-metre garden and 181-square-metre terrace, which also belongs to a Benko foundation. The rental agreement, issued to Benko and his wife, stated: "The tenants shall make an advance payment of four years' rent at the start of the rental period."
For the WKStA, the transaction constitutes a so-called fraudulent crida - not least because the Hungerburg villa was not even habitable at the time due to extensive repair work. Benko's family has only been using the luxury residence since 2025.
Benko is also accused of transferring 300,000 euros from a gift from his so-called "straw mother" back to her because he was already expecting his own bankruptcy.

3. how will the trial proceed in detail?
Two trial days are initially scheduled. The first starts on Tuesday at 9 a.m. and is scheduled for the opening statements by the public prosecutor and the defense as well as for the questioning of Benko. Witnesses will be heard on the second day of the trial. Eight people have been summoned, including relatives and associates of Benko. However, it is expected that some of them may refuse to testify, as they themselves are under investigation. It is also possible that the defense will file motions for evidence. In general, however, it is assumed that a verdict could be reached on Wednesday. Judge Andrea Wegscheider will preside over the trial, assisted by two lay judges.

4. what punishment does Benko face in the event of a conviction?
Benko, who vehemently denies the allegations, faces a prison sentence of between one and a maximum of ten years for the offense of fraudulent crida. If convicted, the actual sentence would probably be well below the maximum penalty: Benko is considered blameless before the law. His conviction for attempted prohibited intervention from 2013, which the court described at the time as a "model case of corruption", has since been expunged and the 48-year-old Signa founder can no longer be held responsible.

5. why is Mrs. Benko spared a trip to court?
According to investigators, Nathalie Benko allegedly helped her husband hide eleven luxury watches, eight pairs of cufflinks and 120,000 euros in cash from Benko's trustee in bankruptcy in a newly acquired safe at a relative's home shortly before his personal bankruptcy in March 2024. The WKStA also filed an indictment on these facts with the Innsbruck Regional Court in September. Both Benkos appealed against this. As the Innsbruck Higher Regional Court has not yet ruled on this, the "Tresor case" cannot be dealt with in the first Benko trial.

René Benko is said to have set aside assets via an advance rental payment for the villa in the Hungerburg district of Innsbruck (photo).(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Johanna Birbaumer, APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH, Krone KREATIV)

6. could Mr. Benko walk out of court on Wednesday as a free man?
That is extremely unlikely. René Benko has been in custody in the Vienna-Josefstadt prison since January 24. So far, seven applications for his release have been unsuccessful. The Vienna magistrate most recently extended the pre-trial detention until the beginning of November at the latest due to the risk of the crime being committed. 
This means that even if Benko were to be acquitted in Innsbruck this week, he would remain in custody due to the ongoing investigations in Vienna - at least until the next detention review.

7. what tactics is the WKStA pursuing?
In the recent past, Austria has experienced several large-scale proceedings that have not necessarily strengthened confidence in the efficiency of the justice system. From Eurofighter to the BUWOG complex surrounding former Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser, investigations often took years or even decades before a court was involved.

In the Benko case, the public prosecutors are apparently proceeding differently: Completed investigations are swiftly brought to court. 
However, Benko's web of more than a thousand Signa companies was so complex that investigators and trustees are constantly unearthing new facts as they work through the bankrupt legacy. These individual transactions often have nothing to do with each other - except that the investigators see Benko as the originator and instigator. The facts can therefore be investigated as separate lines of inquiry and, if necessary, charged individually.

8. which investigations are still pending against Benko?
The WKStA is now investigating the financial juggler in more than a dozen other lines of inquiry. These involve serious criminal property offenses such as embezzlement and serious fraud.
In Italy, the anti-mafia public prosecutor's office in Trento is investigating on suspicion of forming a criminal organization in connection with real estate projects, while money laundering investigations are underway in Germany.
Benko has denied all allegations - the presumption of innocence applies.

9. where are the investigations into the postponed Lake Garda villas and the failed capital increase at?
Soko Signa has been conducting intensive investigations into both matters since 2024.
In August 2023, Benko's Signa was already on the brink. When a Korean investor turned down a hoped-for 400 million euro financing, a "villa transfer" began: six Lake Garda properties, designed by star architects such as David Chipperfield, were transferred to the Benkos' Liechtenstein foundation in exchange for Signa shares - which were soon to be worthless. Transfer value: around 46 million euros.

The so-called "money carousel" is about a capital increase in the summer of 2023. When the chips were down, Benko is said to have persuaded his investors to inject fresh capital by allegedly setting a good example himself and contributing 35 million euros from his foundation. However, it is suspected that this money did not actually come from the Benko Foundation: Benko is said to have previously taken it from the Signa Group by way of a circular transfer.

10. is Benko really as poor as a church mouse?
This is the crucial question that will probably keep the Austrian judiciary busy for years to come - especially in numerous civil proceedings against the foundations in which Benko is said to have parked millions of euros years ago and thus kept them safe from his creditors. When these foundations were set up, the major Signa crash was not yet foreseeable - this distinguishes them significantly from the accused Tresor case and the rent prepayment, which is being heard this week at the Innsbruck Regional Court. According to the WKStA, Benko is said to have already reckoned with his bankruptcy in these "last-minute actions", which are almost symbolic in comparison to Benko's foundation assets.

However, he is not accused of this when donating the hundreds of millions in gold, securities, cash and real estate.

According to the confidential balance sheet available to the "Krone", the Laura Private Foundation based in Innsbruck alone had assets of 649.01 million euros in 2022.