Overview

• Defense lawyer Norbert Wess lodged a Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde to the Supreme Court challenging the conviction and a separate Berufung contesting the two-year sentence with the Innsbruck appellate court.
• The anti-corruption prosecutor WKStA said it will appeal Benko’s acquittal on the roughly €360,000 rent and operating-cost prepayment charge.
• Last week a panel court in Innsbruck found Benko guilty of harming creditors for transferring €300,000 to his mother shortly before insolvency and acquitted him on the second count.
• Benko has been in pre-trial detention since January 24, with release requests rejected over risk assessments, and any final sentence would be credited with time served.
• Under Austrian procedure, the Supreme Court could annul parts of the verdict on the nullity complaint, which would make the sentence appeal unnecessary, as broader Signa-related probes continue in Austria, Germany and Italy.