Overview
- Prosecutors charge René Benko and his wife with fraudulent bankruptcy over a safe said to contain €120,000 in cash, eleven high‑value watches and other items worth about €250,000.
- Investigators say the safe was kept at relatives of Benko’s wife in Pfunds and was intended to keep assets out of creditors’ reach during his personal insolvency.
- Day one includes statements from prosecution and defense, questioning of both defendants, and testimony from several witnesses.
- Benko received a two‑year prison sentence in a separate case in October that is not yet final, and he has been in pre‑trial detention since January 2025; any eventual sentences would be combined under Austrian law.
- The case proceeds alongside wide‑ranging probes into the Signa collapse, with the WKStA investigating 14 strands and a 606‑page SOKO Signa report guiding potential further charges.