Question in the state parliament

Dornauer’s successor: “Nothing to do with Benko!”

Tyrol's new SPÖ leader Philip Wohlgemuth: "Never a personal meeting, let alone an exchange."

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

What business relationships does the state of Tyrol have with bankrupt René Benko? And does Georg Dornauer's successor Philip Wohlgemuth also have such good hunting contacts? The Tyrolean Greens put questions to the state parliament and received answers. 

The Tyrolean Greens will be focusing on Tyrol's mega-banker René Benko at the upcoming state parliament session on Wednesday and Thursday. "Properties from the Benko empire and the state of Tyrol" is the title of a series of questions posed by Green Party leader Gebi Mair to State Governor Anton Mattle, Social Affairs Commissioner Eva Pawlata and former State Governor Georg Dornauer, who was ousted over the hunting affair with Benko. His successor and now head of the Tyrolean SPÖ, LHStv Philip Wohlgemuth, answered on his behalf.

Key question about the relationships
"René Benko is or has been attributed with a number of companies that he directly or indirectly controls or benefits from. In Tyrol, these include RB Immobilienverwaltungs GmbH & Co, Signa Holding, Signa Prime Selection, Signa Development Selection, Laura Privatstiftung, Ingbe Privatstiftung and many others. What other business relationships exist between the state of Tyrol or its companies and Benko or his companies?" is Mair's key question.

The connections between Tyrolean state politics and René Benko are numerous and still not transparent. We Greens will continue to investigate.

Klubobmann Gebi Mair

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

Rental at the usual local rent
"Only one rental agreement was concluded with reference to René Benko's holdings," reports Wohlgemuth. "Specifically, it is a rental agreement between RB Immobilienverwaltung GmbH & Co Bozner Platz 5 KEG and the state of Tyrol. The premises are rented at a local rent for office space." It is not clear from the response how high this is and whether previously existing business relationships have since been dissolved.

30,000 euros net rent per month to Benko company
Wohlgemuth's party colleague Eva Pawlata was more forthcoming: "The rents in Museumsstraße 11 (three floors) amount to a total of EUR 21,867.64 net per month. The monthly rent for Sillgasse is 7368.16 euros." The building houses facilities run by Tiroler Kinder- und Jugend GmbH and Kinder Bildung Tirol gemeinnützige GmbH (KIB).

Emergency brake after the house of cards collapsed
There were also talks regarding the rental or purchase of properties from Benko by the state of Tyrol and calendar notes "Dornauer" and "Forster" (note: state office director) with a Benko managing director, as reported by "News". There were three appointments in 2022 regarding the rental of a corner building in Innsbruck's Museumstraße for Tirol-Holding. Only after the collapse of the Signa card house did the deal with the state fall through in fall 2024.

Basically, it is stated that there was never a personal meeting, let alone a personal exchange, between LHStv Philip Wohlgemuth and Mr. René Benko.

Aus Anfragebeantwortung durch SP-Chef Wohlgemuth

Details of the disastrous hunting trip
Gebi Mair wanted to find out all the details about the hunting trip from Dornauer: "Who paid for the travel, accommodation, food and hunting? How many hunting trips (including with people other than René Benko) have you taken part in since you took office? Have you accepted invitations to helicopter flights paid for by third parties and if so, who paid for them?"

The official response to this is: "In principle, it is stated that there has never been a personal meeting, let alone a personal exchange, between LHStv. Philip Wohlgemuth and Mr. René Benko, which is why a relationship, both in a friendly and business sense, must be expressly denied."

Reference to confidentiality obligation
LH Anton Mattle asked the Landesbank Hypo Tirol and the provincial energy supplier Tiwag: "No business relationships beyond standard contracts (e.g. electricity supply)," they said. Hypo refused to provide information, citing banking secrecy. "We will continue to investigate," promises Mair.