Explosive evidence

Gusenbauer: new turmoil surrounding Benko’s man of millions

In the pay of Benko's Signa from 2009: former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/EXPA/APA/picturedesk.com, Helmut Fohringer/picturedesk.com)

What role did the former chancellor play in the Signa universe of the billionaire bankrupt? A new invoice has emerged in connection with the testimony before "Soko Signa". In the millions.

René Benko has been in custody in the Vienna-Josefstadt prison since January 23. Five days later, the investigators of Soko Signa arrested the financial juggler's millionaire advisor: Alfred Gusenbauer, who had almost flown from the Chancellery to the realm of the real estate speculator at the beginning of 2009, had to testify as a witness. Under obligation to tell the truth.

The main topic of the hearing: the money carousel that René Benko is said to have set in motion in the summer of 2023 in order to extract 35.35 million euros from the financially ailing Signa Group.

The money was to be channeled through various Signa companies to end up in a Benko foundation. From there, it was then brought back into Signa. Disguised as supposedly fresh equity. The investigators' suspicion: Signa founder Benko wanted to use this adventurous circular transfer to give his co-investors the impression that he was setting a good example in a desperately needed fundraising measure, although no money of his own was actually injected into Signa, which was already struggling badly.

Gusenbauer explains the planned capital increase: he has "no personal perceptions of this, as I was not involved." However, he was later informed by Benko and co-investor Hans Peter Haselsteiner, for whose foundations Gusenbauer also works.

My name is Hase ...
The second line of attack of the criminologists: When did the former chancellor, as chairman of the supervisory board of various core companies as well as advisory board member and consultant of Signa Holding, "realize that Signa Holding GmbH was in a difficult economic situation?"

Here, too, Gusenbauer apparently acted according to the motto: My name is Hase, I know almost nothing. His answer: "The Advisory Board was not involved in this matter, so I have no knowledge of it."

So no knowledge. On closer inspection of the facts, this is at least an idiosyncratic view of the situation, which has resulted in the biggest bankruptcy in Austrian economic history.

Three million bill
Because: Gusenbauer was even involved in "capital-raising measures" in 2023, when Signa was searching for liquidity at every turn. This emerges from new documents obtained by "Krone" and "News".

Former SP chairman Gusenbauer invoiced Signa Holding three million euros via his consulting company on October 24, 2023, around one month before the bankruptcy. For "strategic advice to the management on the implementation of capital-raising measures for the individual Signa companies", as the invoice text literally states. The service period: April 1 to October 31, 2023.

Shortly before the bankruptcy, Gusenbauer submitted an invoice in the millions.

(Bild: zVg )

In addition, Signa Holding received another 300,000 euro fee note just a few days later, on November 2. According to the text of his invoice, Gusenbauer used this to settle "the second part of the 2023 bonus as agreed".

On November 22, 2023, one week before Signa Holding filed for insolvency, alarm bells started ringing, at least for the chief controller of the Signa Group. He sent the two Gusenbauer fee notes totaling EUR 3.3 million to the two holding company managing directors and noted:

"Dear colleagues, I was informed yesterday by RB (apparently: René Benko; note) that no agreement is known/exists regarding the enclosed invoices. Comparable payments have always been made in recent years."

50,000 fixed fee
Incidentally, the tense financial situation of Signa Holding could have caught Gusenbauer's eye months earlier. By looking at his account. He would have noticed that Signa Holding was in arrears with the monthly basic remuneration for the chief advisor.

According to a confidential document, Gusenbauer's tax advisor even sent the holding company a reminder for a total of EUR 279,949 on October 13, 2023. At the time, all fee notes had been outstanding since May.

Gusenbauer's monthly fixed fee as an advisory board member still amounted to EUR 29,950 in 2022. On February 8, 2023, the remuneration was increased to 50,000 euros. On this day, Gusenbauer celebrated his 63rd birthday.

The former chancellor left a written question about the new documents unanswered. The prominent witness has not yet been questioned by the investigators on this matter.