Signa trial Signa founder Benko sentenced to two years in prison
Austrian investor René Benko has been sentenced to two years in prison for harming his creditors. The 48-year old had stolen assets by making a gift of 300,000 euros to his mother, the Innsbruck Regional Court ruled.
15.10.2025, 14:05
15.10.2025, 14:39
SDA
Benko was acquitted on Wednesday in the case of an advance rental payment of 360,000 euros. The verdict is not legally binding.
One of many lines of investigation
In the case, Benko had to answer for his insolvency as a sole trader. The indictment is just one of a total of 14 proceedings in which the Austrian judiciary alone is mostly investigating serious fraud and breach of trust.
The proceedings are seen as the start of a possible series of trials surrounding the biggest bankruptcy in Austria's recent history. In the fall of 2023, the real estate and retail conglomerate Signa, consisting of more than 1130 companies, gradually slipped into insolvency. Rising interest rates and its own mistakes had undermined the Signa business model.
The creditors' total claims against the Signa holding company and its individual companies are in the billions of euros.
Benko was a billionaire several times over
The Tyrolean's fall from grace is deep. In his heyday, Benko's fortune was estimated at almost five billion euros. His career as a real estate specialist began when he was still at school in Innsbruck. Back then, he didn't do his A-levels, but instead converted attics. The school dropout also had great powers of persuasion. He succeeded in bringing major investors on board Signa, which he founded in 1999.
The takeover of the Tyrol department store in Innsbruck in 2004 caused a sensation. In Vienna, he developed the "Goldenes Quartier" in a prime inner city location. He later acquired stakes in buildings such as the Chrysler Building in New York, the luxury department store Selfridges in London and the Elbtower in Hamburg. In Switzerland, the Globus department stores belonged to Signa Holding.
The rapid rise was followed by an equally steep decline: high construction costs, rising interest rates on loans and home-grown problems put the company in difficulties. Signa filed for insolvency at the end of November 2023, and in March 2024 Benko filed for personal insolvency.
