Signa Founder René Benko Remains in Custody Over Christmas Holidays

Wess no longer sees the proportionality of the pre-trial detention as given. "The court assumes that the long period to be examined from the past already constitutes the (concrete) risk of committing an offense in the future," said Benko's defense attorney to the APA. Wess argued that the decision to extend the pre-trial detention does not sufficiently take into account the "previously (recognizable) hardship of detention for an Austrian citizen with no prior convictions, who is also fully socially integrated." Benko has been in pre-trial detention since January 2025. He participated in the detention hearing via video from the Innsbruck correctional facility.

Judgments against René Benko not yet final

In October, Benko was sentenced in Innsbruck in the first criminal trial for fraudulent bankruptcy to two years in prison, not yet final. In a second trial in December, Benko also received a suspended sentence of 15 months for fraudulent bankruptcy. Following appeals by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) and the defense, this judgment is also not final. Benko has consistently denied all allegations so far.

The WKStA recently pursued 14 different lines of inquiry in the case complex surrounding the Signa bankruptcy. In addition to fraudulent bankruptcy, the allegations include breach of trust, serious fraud, creditor favoritism, and subsidy fraud. They are targeting more than a dozen accused individuals and two associations. The total damage under investigation currently amounts to around 300 million euros.

(APA/Red.)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.