"Straw mom"
Benko: His mother’s secret donations
René Benko made a surprise appearance at the Innsbruck regional court on Wednesday. His personal insolvency was being heard there. The claims against him amount to around two billion euros, only 47 million of which are currently recognized.
The financial juggler claims that he personally has neither significant real estate assets nor relevant shareholdings in Austria. In fact, Benko already had his financial affairs in order years ago. With the help of foundations into which he transferred millions in assets in Austria and Liechtenstein. His mother Ingeborg accompanied him in these maneuvers.
The key to the vault
The Tyrolean trustees are now looking for the key to the Benko vault in these foundations. Key questions: How did the many millions from the non-transparent Signa group structure ultimately flow into the family's private sphere? And: How did René Benko benefit from this, even though he himself is not officially a beneficiary of these foundations he set up?
The "Krone" can shed light on the darkness of the foundations with an example: Confidential documents available show that Benko is apparently not only the founder of his Laura private foundation, but above all: how millions from this foundation were shifted back to private citizen René Benko via detours. An example from December 2015 shows: on one occasion, 10.99 million euros were discussed, a few days later 15 million were given away.
The straw mother
His mother, a now 73-year-old pensioner, was at the center of the complex transactions involving lawyers, tax consultants and notaries. Benko's straw mother officially received millions from the Laura Private Foundation and transferred these millions from the foundation to her son. As a gift.
The advice and warnings from René Benko's advisors who accompanied this carousel of transfers are highly remarkable. Quote from an email from Benko's long-standing lawyer Nikolaus Arnold to his client: "As has already been repeatedly stated, we must advise against making donations directly to Mr. Benko."
An explosive reason: René Benko could - as Benko's lawyer feared years ago - be seen as the beneficial owner of the Laura Private Foundation instead of his mother. According to the cautious Benko advisor, this would result in disclosures to banks and the financial authorities.
For Benko's insolvency administrators in Innsbruck, this would probably be a way to access the Benko millions stashed away in this foundation, which could flow to René Benko's creditors with such a key. The Benko advisors seem to have recognized this risk years ago: "To avoid being directly accused of circumvention in the area of donations, you should also consider whether the amounts should be structured differently."
In plain language: To make the district transfers less conspicuous, the mother should divide up the money officially given to her by the foundation and transfer it to her René in smaller chunks.
Transfers into the private sphere
The documents available to the "Krone" apparently prove for the first time that Benko, with the help of his advisors and his mother, may have set up a discreet money circuit in order to secretly transfer large sums of money, which he had officially transferred to a foundation, at least partially back into his private sphere via the foundation and his mother. Lawyers and tax advisors acted as stooges for the equestrian sports fan, who bought a horse worth millions through this Laura Foundation at the end of July 2023.
Today, René Benko no longer has any relevant assets, according to his own statements to the Innsbruck regional court. How could he when the foundation's donations officially go to his mother? A retired kindergarten teacher.
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