Villa in the Spotlight

Bitter End to Benko’s Trial: 30 Months in Prison

René Benko on Tuesday shortly before the trial began(Bild: APA/EXPA/ JOHANN GRODER)

René Benko, the billionaire who went bankrupt and founder of Signa, once again had to answer charges of fraudulent bankruptcy before a lay judges’ court in Innsbruck on Tuesday. The reason: In early July, the Supreme Court had overturned a partial acquittal and remanded the case to the Regional Court for a retrial. In the end, Benko was sentenced to a total of 30 months in prison, taking into account the final judgment from October 2025.

Shortly before 9 a.m., René Benko, who has been in pretrial detention since January 2025, entered the large jury courtroom at the Innsbruck Regional Court, where the lay judges’ hearing was taking place under the presiding judge Norbert Hofer. Benko was escorted by eight correctional officers.

Less media presence than previously
As expected, the media presence this time was noticeably smaller than at Benko’s previous court appearances in Innsbruck. About 20 media representatives had obtained accreditation in advance, including some from Germany. There had been about 80 at the first trial last October.

The trial concerns an advance rent payment of approximately 360,000 euros for a villa in the Hungerburg district of Innsbruck. The chief prosecutor sought a guilty verdict, while the defense attorney sought an acquittal.

René Benko on Tuesday shortly before the trial began.(Bild: APA/EXPA/ JOHANN GRODER)

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA), Benko is alleged to have, through this “economically and objectively unjustifiable payment,” deprived his creditors of access to the money and prevented or reduced the satisfaction of their claims. 

The advance payment for rent and operating costs was the second part of a case in which the 49-year-old had been sentenced to an unconditional prison term of two years in an initial trial in October 2025 at the Regional Court. The Supreme Court (OGH) then upheld the guilty verdict from the initial judgment against Benko in early July, thereby formally convicting him for the first time. The Tyrolean was found guilty of making a gift of 300,000 euros to his mother. He is alleged to have withheld the money from his creditors.

Rent Case Must Be Retried
Due to the reversal of the partial acquittal, the rental case must now be retried, and the Regional Court must reassess the sentence.

Still convinced of Signa’s restructuring at the end of 2023 
During the retrial on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy, Benko testified for the first time in a criminal proceeding related to the Signa bankruptcy. In a brief digression on the broader Signa case, he emphasized that as late as the fall, and in November and December 2023, he was still convinced that the group’s restructuring would succeed. The 49-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charge.

“I—and all of us—did not think it possible at the time that the restructuring of the Signa Group would fail.”

René Benko vor Gericht

Bild: Christof Birbaumer

“I—and all of us—did not think it possible at the time that the restructuring of the Signa Group would fail,” explained the embattled Tyrolean real estate entrepreneur. He said he remained convinced of this even in November and December 2023. “At that time, I paid another two or three million euros into the Signa Group. I wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t been convinced.”

Regarding the Hungerburg villa, Benko initially referred to his defense attorney’s statements and pleaded not guilty. He stated that he had added the commercial details to the contract and that the lease terms had been proposed by him. The terms were “market-based.” As “consideration” for the advance rent payment, “one year of rent-free tenancy” had been agreed upon. He had also proposed the “rent-free period,” which, along with the ten-year commitment, was the main reason for the advance payment. For the period after the first year, a “market-rate rent” of 7,500 euros had been agreed upon.

Benko’s Attack on the WKStA
In his remarks, Benko also launched a brief attack on the WKStA, after which—as is his legal right—he declined to answer any questions. The WKStA had initially attempted, “with claims contrary to the record,” to portray the house as uninhabitable; now they were trying to claim that a “special lease agreement” had been created. “Which was not the case.” The advance rent payment had resulted in savings of 90,000 euros.

The decision to rent the house—they were also living in the villa in Igls—was made at his wife’s request, because they wanted to provide the children with a “normal life” and a normal school routine there without staff. By Christmas 2023, the house had been “perfectly modernized.” Why, then, didn’t the family move in? “Media events were coming thick and fast; we were dealing with a ‘media mob.’ For security reasons alone, we couldn’t move in,” he said, alluding to the Signa collapse. They finally moved in by Christmas 2024. His family now lives there exclusively.

“The damage had already been done”
The lease agreement plus the advance payment were concluded by Benko in the fall of 2023 “without any external prompting”—and this at a time when the Signa empire was already collapsing, the chief prosecutor explained on Tuesday in his opening statement. The intention to live in the villa at a later date and the possibility of rescinding the contract or exercising the right of termination are not decisive factors here. “The damage had already occurred. The offense had already been committed by the time the bankruptcy trustee took action,” the prosecutor stated.

The Supreme Court had already confirmed the objective elements of the crime in its reversal of the lower court’s decision. The issue now concerns the internal, subjective element of the offense—that is, whether Benko seriously considered it possible that the creditors would suffer harm, meaning he had conditional intent. The court must now examine this. And following this examination, only a guilty verdict can be reached, the chief prosecutor emphasized.

Furthermore, the prosecutor noted that Benko had drafted the lease agreement himself and that the entire transaction had generally taken place at his instigation. The landlord was RB Immobilien GmbH, a subsidiary of the Laura Private Foundation, the WKStA prosecutor recalled. Therefore, it could hardly be said that Benko was dealing with a counterpart over whom he had no influence.

The lease agreement was neither malicious nor particularly devious.

Norbert Wess, Benko-Verteidiger

Bild: Christof Birbaumer

Benko’s Defense Attorney Targeted the Receiver
As previously announced, Benko’s defense attorney, Norbert Wess, presented new legal arguments regarding the lease agreement in question during his opening statement. In doing so, he primarily targeted Benko’s bankruptcy trustee, Andreas Grabenweger. “The lease agreement was neither malicious nor particularly treacherous,” Wess said at the outset. On the contrary, he argued, it would have been possible under the terms of the agreement to obtain a refund of the advance rent payment by terminating the lease. Instead, Wess criticized, Grabenweger opted for termination.

“They simply should have handled it differently from a legal standpoint; then the problem wouldn’t have arisen in the first place,” the defense attorney argued. In that case, the sum would also have been “realizable” for the creditors. This, in turn, meant that the actions taken were not “legally sound,” and that “Mr. Benko should not be held responsible,” he argued, thereby exonerating his client from the charge of fraudulent bankruptcy and requesting an acquittal.

He faced up to ten years in prison
The trial, which began at 9 a.m., was scheduled to last until 8 p.m. It was initially unclear whether Benko, who remains in pretrial detention, would answer the court’s questions in his hometown this time.

Shortly after 4 p.m., the verdict was finally handed down: Taking into account the already final judgment from October 2025, Benko was sentenced to a total of 30 months in prison—not yet final.