There, Benko's trustee in bankruptcy is attempting to crack open the Benkos' multi-million euro foundation bunkers in Innsbruck (Laura) and Liechtenstein (INGBE).

Bogus construct
The civil judge is recommended to take a look at the 38-page arrest warrant for the 47-year-old financial juggler at the start of the trial. In it, the investigators from the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) list massive accusations that primarily concern the Benkos' Laura private foundation:

It is "to be assumed that the foundation structure exists merely as a sham and serves primarily to continue to keep assets that are still available, which are in fact attributable to Benko, out of the reach of the authorities, liquidators and creditors. And yet to grant him - via his mother as a straw woman - considerable financial benefits, benefits in money's worth and a de facto possibility of access."

The document also states that "it can be ruled out that Ingeborg Benko has the necessary motivation and know-how to make a significant contribution". Bankrupt Benko not only managed the interests of the foundation like an owner, but also "directly disposed of its assets" in order to afford a lavish life of luxury even after the bankruptcy.

It is known that Benko used the foundation to acquire a million-dollar horse in 2023, for example, or to provide his wife Nathalie with two million euros for a real estate investment in addition to monthly maintenance of 10,500 euros. The "Krone" reported.

Some of the witness statements, which are now in the more than one terabyte large criminal file, also appear particularly striking: A long-standing employee of the Signa or Laura Foundation Group stated to the investigators that between March and October 2024, "in her opinion, René Benko, together with Heinz Peter Hager, would have had the overall view and ultimate responsibility in the Laura Group." Hager is the Signa Italy boss who sat on the Laura board until his house arrest in December.

"All-powerful autocrat"
 The Laura employee also explained: "Benko was in fact superior to her." And: she had also repeatedly complained to Hager herself at the time "that payment instructions should come from the respective managing directors of the companies or from the foundation board instead of from René Benko", but the officially functionless speculator was "the only tangible contact person for all companies in the Laura Group".

Clear words also came from the circle of investors: Fressnapf founder Torsten Toeller explained to the investigators in Vienna before Christmas that Benko was, in his view, the "all-powerful autocrat" in both the Signa and the Laura Group. 

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