Real estate Court extends pre-trial detention for Signa investor Benko until January 12
The fallen Austrian investor René Benko remains in custody. The Vienna Regional Criminal Court has extended this by a further two months, as was reported on Monday. Benko took part in the hearing via video from Innsbruck prison.
10.11.2025, 13:16
SDA
The court continues to assume that there is a risk of the offense being committed. Accordingly, the pre-trial detention was extended until January 12, 2026, as January 10 falls on a Saturday. An appeal against the decision can be lodged within three days.
In October, René Benko was sentenced to two years in prison in the first criminal proceedings in Innsbruck. Following appeals by the public prosecutor and the defense, the verdict is not legally binding. A second trial is scheduled for December 10 and 16, also in Innsbruck.
Benko has always denied any accusations. He has been in custody since January. In the first trial, he was convicted of fraudulent crida. According to the verdict, he is alleged to have set aside assets and thus reduced the fulfillment of creditor claims in the course of his insolvency
Further allegations in the room
The Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) recently investigated more than a dozen different sets of facts in the complex of proceedings surrounding the Signa bankruptcy. The allegations include fraudulent crida, embezzlement, serious fraud, preferential treatment of creditors and misuse of subsidies.
It is targeting more than a dozen defendants and two associations. According to the public prosecutor's office, the total loss currently under investigation amounts to around 300 million euros.
