The insolvency-related fraud trial of fallen Austrian property tycoon Rene Benko entered its second day on Wednesday, with a ruling expected in the afternoon in the first case connected to the collapse of his Signa property empire.
Signa became the biggest casualty of Europe's property downturn when some of its main units filed for insolvency in 2023. Prosecutors are conducting a sprawling investigation into possible crimes committed, and estimate the related damage caused at around 300 million euros ($349 million).
The case being heard in Benko's home city of Innsbruck this week deals with just a fraction of that sum - about 660,000 euros in total which prosecutors allege Benko diverted in an attempt to keep the money beyond the reach of creditors in the context of his insolvency as an entrepreneur.
Benko has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer Norbert Wess told the court the accusation was "absurd". Benko faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The case centres on two lump sums including up-front rent and other payments of around 360,000 euros in 2023, the year major Signa units filed for insolvency, for a house in Innsbruck that prosecutors argue made no sense because the property was in need of repair and uninhabitable at the time.
The remaining 300,000 euros were ostensibly a gift to his mother, prosecutors said.
His lawyer Wess said there was nothing improper about the payments and that Benko moved into the house with his family sooner than prosecutors alleged.
With only a handful of witnesses due to be heard, a ruling was likely to be issued later on Wednesday. It is the first of two cases prosecutors have brought against Benko so far.
($1 = 0.8598 euros)
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 14th of August, covering the latest developments....
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption contin...
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 14th of August, covering the latest developments.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Record rainfall in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture has killed four people and left thousands stranded overnight at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, as torrential rain disrupted rail, bus and texi services across the prefracture and left more than 20,000 households without power.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province. A man died of the virus in Bas-Uélé in the north, the African Union’s health agency said.
At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine last month, according to UN investigators, marking the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since March 2022.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment