Appeal against pretrial detention

A major setback: Benko also fails before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled last week on René Benko’s constitutional complaint.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Andi Schiel, Christof Birbaumer)

After nearly 15 months in pretrial detention, René Benko has now also failed before the highest court. According to information from “Krone,” the Supreme Court (OGH) rejected the billionaire bankrupt’s constitutional complaint in its ruling of April 7.

On December 23, 2023, immediately after the eleventh detention review hearing before the Vienna Regional Court, René Benko lost his temper: The Signa founder, who has been in pretrial detention since January 23, 2025, instructed his defense attorneys to file a detention appeal with the Vienna Higher Regional Court.

The gist: The long period behind bars is disproportionate; the appellate court should review the risk of reoffending as determined by the Regional Court.

 ’sowngoal A shot in the foot, as it turned out seven weeks later: For in mid-February 2026, the three-judge panel of the Higher Regional Court dealt with the billionaire bankrupt in an almost unprecedented manner. In a 110-page ruling, the judges described him, among other things, as a “personality deeply rooted in white-collar crime.”

The Supreme Court ruled last week on René Benko’s constitutional complaint.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Andi Schiel, Christof Birbaumer)

Particularly explosive: The Vienna Higher Regional Court assumed, for example, that Benko could commit further serious crimes if released from pretrial detention. The ruling refers repeatedly to the foundations that the 48-year-old Tyrolean financial juggler continues to control through straw men.

Benko “de facto ruler”
The judges suspected that Benko, “as the de facto ruler and beneficial owner of the Ingbe Foundation, the Arual Foundation, and the Laura Foundation and their subsidiaries (…), would act through third parties in the manner he has been accustomed to and practiced for years (…) and continue to commit criminal acts (…), specifically fraudulent bankruptcy (…).”

For the sake of clarity, it should be noted: In March, the Laura Private Foundation, the Benkos’ second Austrian foundation, also slid into insolvency. Yet the asset havens Ingbe and Arual in Liechtenstein still exist.

“Not Violated”
Now Benko has also suffered a major setback before Austria’s highest court. According to “Krone” investigations, the Supreme Court informed the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption of its ruling: “René Benko’s fundamental right to personal freedom was not violated. The constitutional complaint is dismissed.”

Communication from the Supreme Court to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption(Bild: zVg)

What happens next? Another detention review hearing is scheduled for the end of this week. However, following the Supreme Court’s ruling, observers speculate that pretrial detention could smoothly transition into a prison sentence—provided the two first-instance convictions (24 months suspended, 15 months unsuspended) become final.