On Tuesday, the Italian prosecutor’s office in the city of Trento issued a European arrest warrant for the founder of the company Signa, René Benko, who is suspected of a number of frauds. The collapse of his real estate empire is considered the biggest bankruptcy in neighboring Austria since 1955.
Tyrolean criminal investigators interrogated Benko in Innsbruck, but did not arrest him. He informs about it with the fact that the South Tyrolean businessman Heinz Peter Hager, the mayor of the northern Italian city of Riva del Garda Cristina Santiová and others ended up in the hands of the police.
Benek was interrogated in a case related to the investigation of corruption in the approval of real estate projects, where there are currently 77 suspects. According to the Italians, it is the Tyrolean billionaire who is the central figure in the illegal activities that, according to the investigators, took place between 2018 and 2022 in the north of Italy.
Law enforcement agencies there have already brought charges of bribery, disclosure of official secrets and omission of official acts, as well as violation of tax regulations.
“The arrest warrant will not be executed in Austria”
Hansjörg Mayr, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in Innsbruck, says that Benko has no special treatment. “The arrest warrant will not be executed in Austria,” he responded to the media. He explained that the European arrest warrant does not have to be executed if it concerns an Austrian citizen, against whom relevant proceedings can also be conducted in Austria. The Innsbruck prosecutor’s office did not provide further details about today’s interrogation.
Benko’s lawyers are expected to ensure that their client’s name appears in the Schengen Information System, so that Austrian police can be convinced that although there is an arrest warrant for the billionaire, it has been decided in Innsbruck to keep him free. However, he cannot leave the country, as Benko could be detained in any neighboring country on the basis of a European arrest warrant.
Meanwhile, Italian law enforcement officers intervened in connection with the case in several places. They raided the town hall in Bolzano and about 100 other places. According to Italian media, the suspected businessmen bribed officials to obtain permits for various constructions. Even in their case, however, the presumption of innocence still applies.
The Austrians are investigating Benko for hotel subsidies
The charges in the major case also include criminal conspiracy, bid rigging, illegal financing of political parties, fraud and illegal receipt of funds at the expense of the state.
The Austrians had already started investigating Benko on the suspicion that he misused state subsidies for the Chalet N hotel project in the Austrian Arlberg massif. The prosecutor’s office suspects that Benko used the property primarily for private purposes, and was not entitled to use the subsidies that were paid to him.
Billionaires around Kurz. Fat subsidies and steep falls
In addition to his bankrupt real estate business, Benko is also known for his close ties to Austrian ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Kurz’s circle is far from the only controversial businessman.
Recently, the business of Austrian industrialist and lobbyist Stefan Pierer, a billionaire who is described as the main sponsor of Kurz’s political career, has also found himself in great difficulties.
The largest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe, KTM, which belongs to Pierer’s conglomerate, got heavily in debt and recently admitted its own insolvency. At the same time, KTM received massive aid from the state during the pandemic and paid out hefty dividends to shareholders in 2023.