Accordingly, Karl Gernandt, asset manager of the Hamburg logistics billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne, sees investors in the Signa Group as being “deceived” by its founder René Benko. Benko used his company structure with more than 1,000 companies for this purpose. He acted “ultimately fraudulently”. A Benko lawyer rejected this to the APA.
The Tyrolean had hidden debts “in all the Luxembourg intermediate holding companies,” said Gernandt, head of Kühne Holding, to “Spiegel.” There there were “further veiled obligations to other financiers”, and sub-companies were given loans without the investors’ knowledge, “so that we actually no longer had access to the properties. We just didn’t know that”. For him, says Gernandt, this is “ultimately fraudulent.”
Benko’s lawyer rejects the allegations
“If in this case my client is accused of ‘ultimately fraudulent’ behavior – without any basis and therefore without any content – then I have to reject this accusation on behalf of my client just as apodictically,” said lawyer Norbert Wess in a written statement at the request of the APA on Sunday . “It should be noted that there is currently an obvious media campaign once morest Mr. Benko.” Nevertheless, Benko will “continue not to convey his point of view and his view of things in the media, but always and exclusively to the competent authorities and contact persons.”
For Kühne, around 500 million euros are at stake at Signa, writes the magazine. The German holds ten percent of Signa Prime, the most important real estate division of Benko’s group of companies. Benko’s backers also include the French car dynast Robert Peugeot, who has invested around 300 million euros through his family holding company. For Fressnapf founder Torsten Toeller, around 150 million euros are at stake. Management consultant Roland Berger, the Austro industrialist and investor Hans Peter Haselsteiner and Lindt & Sprüngli boss Ernst Tanner are also worried regarding the sums they have invested.
“Private deal” with every investor?
Benko “sensed the greed of others,” the “Spiegel” quotes a companion of the ex-billionaire and now bankrupt. For a long time Benko was granted the “nouveau riche attitude”. But that has changed, even if the Signa mastermind portrayed himself as a “hard worker” shortly before the downfall. The “Kronen Zeitung” (Sunday) writes that Benko also had a “private deal” with each investor, which made it look as if each investor had a better deal. Of course, there is no official confirmation of this.
The billionaire investors are disappointed with Benko. Benkos Signa hasn’t had “healthy growth” for a long time, says one of its important backers today. Instead, the growing gap between costs and income was concealed with regular capital increases and building sales.
Benko is currently financially dependent on his mother
Benko now wants to be dependent primarily on his mother for his livelihood, as he stated in his personal bankruptcy proceedings as an entrepreneur according to the “Tiroler Tageszeitung”. He lives on 3,700 euros a month. According to “Austria”, his family, on the other hand, should continue to indulge in luxury and need a lot of money for their horse hobby.
Many wealthy entrepreneurs also criticize themselves. They “didn’t notice for too long” how heavy the debt was, says one who now regrets his involvement. Another is “infinitely disappointed in myself” and admits that his investment advisor urged him to get out early on, but he never listened to him. He sees his Benko investment as “one of my biggest failures.”
The company’s empire has been crumbling since last fall
Since last autumn, various companies in the Signa Group, founded by Benko, have filed for bankruptcy. The public prosecutor’s office in Vienna is examining initial suspicions of fraud and a special commission has been set up. An investigation is being carried out in Munich regarding possible money laundering. It is the presumption of innocence.
The Signa series of bankruptcies is by far the largest insolvency in Austrian economic history. To date, 475 creditors have registered claims totaling a record 12.8 billion euros once morest the insolvent luxury real estate company Signa Prime; around 5.9 billion euros have currently been recognized by the insolvency administrator. Signa Holding is currently facing a claim totaling 7.8 billion euros in the ongoing insolvency proceedings, although only a good 80 million euros have been recognized so far. 2.3 billion euros in claims have been registered once morest Signa Development, of which 1.5 billion euros have been recognized so far.
