One from 1863
It’s actually quite realistic that Benko will be released today
The timing is strange. While the judiciary is drawing attention to its staffing crisis through a strike, one of the most explosive detention hearings of the year is taking place in Innsbruck. Real estate juggler René Benko wants an ankle monitor while in pretrial detention. But is that realistic? According to judicial insiders, there are some arguments in its favor, but the numbers certainly speak against it.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen Signa founder, real estate juggler, millionaire bankrupt, convicted felon. And soon, an ankle monitor wearer? René Benko is making another attempt today, Wednesday, to be released from the Innsbruck detention center. Experts and legal insiders are certain: The odds are better than ever.
Detention review is not public
The detention review—in which a decision will be made on whether to transfer pretrial detainee René Benko, who has already served his first prison sentence for fraudulent bankruptcy, to electronically monitored house arrest—begins at the Innsbruck Regional Court at 9 a.m. and is expected to last no more than one hour.
It will be presided over by the same judge who sentenced the Tyrolean to 30 months in prison a few weeks ago and who will also preside over the upcoming trial in the Haselsteiner case in early November. According to reports, the detention review is scheduled to take place in a small room at the Innsbruck Regional Court; it remains unclear whether Benko will appear in person or via video link. The outcome is also uncertain.
Does the millionaire bankrupt need personal security?
Benko has reportedly already rented a 60-square-meter apartment in Innsbruck, where he intends to serve his electronically monitored house arrest. It is quite possible that he will need personal security when he appears in public.
For legal insiders, there are strong indications that the Signa founder will indeed be allowed to walk out of jail. Especially since he has been in pretrial detention for 20 months—during which time he has already served his first final conviction thanks to the two-thirds rule.
Ankle Monitors in Pretrial Detention Are an Absolute Exception
A look at the numbers paints a different picture. As of October 1, 2026, according to the Ministry of Justice’s inmate statistics, 1,863 people are in pretrial detention in Austria. And how many of them are wearing an ankle monitor? According to the Ministry of Justice, just one! With the 49-year-old, that would bring the total to two out of 1,863 people spending their pretrial detention under electronically monitored house arrest.
The “Krone” will be reporting live from the Innsbruck Regional Court.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
Hinweis in eigener Sache: Das krone.at-Forum präsentiert sich ab sofort in neuem Design! Freuen Sie sich auf viele neue Funktionen und noch mehr Möglichkeiten zum Austausch. Mehr Informationen finden Sie hier.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.