Overview

• The WKStA lodged Austria’s first criminal indictment against Signa founder René Benko under the offense of betrügerische Krida.
• Prosecutors allege he siphoned €660,000 during his insolvency proceedings through unjustifiable rent and operating-cost prepayments and gifts to relatives.
• He has been held in pretrial detention in Innsbruck since January as Italian and German authorities coordinate parallel investigations.
• The broader probe targets over a dozen suspects and two legal entities on suspicion of fraud, breach of trust and subsidy misuse linked to roughly €300 million in creditor damage.
• If convicted on the fraud charges, Benko faces a prison term of one to ten years under Austrian law.