High-Profile Deals

Before Bankruptcy: Benko Foundation Sold Prime Real Estate

Museumsstraße 9–11: The Innsbruck property changed hands just a few days before the Laura Private Foundation went bankrupt.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

A few weeks before the insolvency, the Benkos’ Laura Private Foundation converted its properties in Innsbruck into cash. The volume of the transactions: around 30 million euros. The insolvency administrator’s law firm acted on behalf of the buyers.

The timing is interesting: At the end of January 2026, the International Court of Arbitration handed down a far-reaching ruling against the Laura Private Foundation. The Benkos’ Austrian “bunker” was ordered to make payments totaling around one billion euros. Since the foundation held only about 300 million euros in assets, the foundation’s board members were forced to file for insolvency on March 12.

Noteworthy: According to research by “Krone” and “News,” several controversial real estate deals—which have now been made public in the land registry—took place between the delivery of the arbitration award and the filing with the Innsbruck Insolvency Court. The Laura Foundation sold several prime properties in Innsbruck to Tyrolean entrepreneurs or their companies. Specifically: Museumsstraße 25, Museumstraße 9–11, Adamgasse 9, and Meraner Straße 1. The total value amounts to approximately 30 million euros.

Insolvency Administrators Must Scrutinize
It is intriguing to note who handled these sales in mid-February: the law firm Ullmann Geiler und Partner. Stefan Geiler and two of his colleagues were appointed by the insolvency court in March as the insolvency administrators for the Laura Private Foundation. A key responsibility of insolvency administrators is to ensure, on behalf of the creditors, that no sales took place prior to the opening of insolvency proceedings. And: whether the purchase prices were reasonable. Otherwise, the sales would have to be reviewed for potential challenge and—in the worst case—reversed.

Is there a potential conflict of interest here? Attorney Stefan Geiler, the insolvency administrator for the Laura Foundation, stated upon inquiry that his law firm had acted as a trustee in this matter. In fact, available documents show that the firm was acting on behalf of the buyer.

 May Be Appointed as Special AdministratorGeiler explains that the sales were “disclosed to the insolvency court.” It did not involve the Laura Private Foundation, but rather subsidiaries and grand subsidiaries. Geiler: “If there were a need for an audit here—which we currently do not know—then the court would appoint a special administrator for that purpose.”

Stefan Geiler has been dealing with the Benko matter since March 2025. He also serves as the insolvency administrator for Herkules Holding, formerly known as Laura Holding. The Laura Private Foundation is the largest shareholder in Herkules Holding, with a 42 percent stake.