Closeness to Benko man

Signa: South Tyrol’s governor questioned by the judiciary

Benko advisor Hager (right) organized meetings with South Tyrol's provincial head Kompatscher (middle), who has now also been questioned by the public prosecutor's office in Trento.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/ZvG, EXPA/JOHANN GRODER, APA/EXPA/JOHANN GRODER)

The governor of South Tyrol, Arno Kompatscher (SVP), was questioned by the public prosecutor's office in Trento on Tuesday in the case of Signa founder René Benko, who slipped into bankruptcy. The focus: Kompatscher's connection to Benko's governor Peter Hager. 

The anti-mafia authorities suspect Benko to be the "head of a criminal organization". The accused deny the accusations and the presumption of innocence applies. At the center of the investigation alongside Benko: His South Tyrolean governor Heinz Peter Hager, 65, head of Signa Italia and CEO of the Laura Private Foundation.

As we reported, Hager is also said to have organized a meeting between Kompatscher and Benko. Among other things, it was about the WaltherPark department store project in Bolzano. Hager had been under house arrest for weeks, but is now free to move around again. 

Kompatscher questioned as a witness
Kompatscher has now been questioned by the public prosecutor's office in Trento as a "persona informata sui fatti", i.e. as a person providing information. No details were given about the content of the questioning, only that it concerned "various administrative proceedings within the jurisdiction of the state", reported the Milan daily newspaper "Corriere della Sera". 

In the meantime, the affair has also spread into political circles, with opposition parties in the South Tyrolean provincial council also accusing Kompatscher of being close to Hager. However, neither Kompatscher nor other SVP members are affected by the investigation.

Benko still in custody
An arrest warrant has been issued for Benko in Italy as a result of the case, but it will not be enforced in Austria. Austrian citizens may not be extradited for alleged offenses for which they can also be investigated in Austria. The Tyrolean real estate tycoon was arrested in Innsbruck on January 23 on suspicion of fraud, among other things, and has been in custody in Vienna since then. 

Gusenbauer with a "clear conscience"
The involvement of former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer in the dubious Signa conglomerate has also recently hit the headlines once again. As former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the insolvent core companies Signa Prime and Signa Development, he pocketed around 20 million euros between 2009 and 2023.

In an interview with the city newspaper "Falter", he affirmed: "My conscience is clear." Despite his position at Signa, he claims to have "never seen a balance sheet from the holding company". Incidentally, he also claims to have "exited with zero": "I invested a large part of the money I earned at Signa in Signa shares."