Kika, Park Hyatt & Co.

COFAG millions for Benko cross EU borders

The noble Park Hyatt Hotel in Vienna: supported by the federal government with 4.8 million corona funds(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

One day before the start, the COFAG-U committee received some explosive figures. The Covid financing agency has provided at least 18.7 million euros to companies that are attributed to financial juggler René Benko. The EU upper limit has therefore clearly been exceeded.

The 18.7 million euros for Benko's corporate empire are based on figures from the Ministry of Finance's transparency portal. The EU Commission has set a limit of just 14 million euros for groups of companies.

Biggest chunk Kika/Leiner
According to the list based on public data, the Kika/Leiner Group, consisting of KIKA Möbel-Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H., Leiner & kika Möbelhandels GmbH and the associated catering businesses LeiKi Gastro Alpha GmbH and LeiKi Gastro Beta GmbH, received the most COFAG funding. Specifically, the sum for these companies amounts to around 9.1 million euros in the years 2020 to 2023.

From Park Hyatt to Chalet N
Other companies associated with the Signa Group also received COFAG funding during this period, such as the Park Hyatt Hotel in Vienna, which received around EUR 4.8 million over two years. The Hotel am Belvedere received support of around 3.7 million euros, while the luxurious Chalet N on the Arlberg received 1.1 million euros from 2020 to 2023.

If Benko's investments are viewed as a group of companies, the EU limit has clearly been exceeded. The Commission had informed the Republic in 2022 that the entire group of companies is decisive for determining the upper limits for financial measures. The maximum amount - turnover and loss compensation combined - is just over 14 million euros.

FPÖ: "Black box without parliamentary control"
The FPÖ intends to confront the respondents in the inquiry committee with these "irregularities" from Wednesday, as announced by parliamentary group leader Christian Hafenecker. He also expects "clarification" from Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) as to which payments were made to the companies concerned and to what extent. Hafenecker also wants to know whether tax deferrals are outstanding at other Signa companies in addition to Kika/Leiner. Including these, the bankruptcy of the Signa Group has already cost around 50 million euros.

FPÖ parliamentary group leader Hafenecker(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Hafenecker was also generally sparing in his criticism of COFAG before the start of the questioning in the U Committee. The government had set up a "black box without parliamentary control". A "fast lane" had also been created for suspected donors of the ÖVP in order to obtain funding quickly.