Fressnapf founder and Signa investor Torsten Toeller is trying to get at least part of the money back that he invested in René Benko’s now insolvent Signa Group. Toeller has filed a lawsuit against the Laura Private Foundation, which Benko founded with his mother Ingeborg, reports the German news magazine “Spiegel” in its current issue. Toeller’s investment company Fressnapf Luxembourg took advantage of the option promised by Benko to return its 4.5 percent stake in Signa Holding. However, the investment company never received the money for it, reports “Spiegel”. The corresponding lawsuit has been pending at the Vienna Commercial Court since the beginning of August. Information suggests that Benko may be living on gifts of money from his mother Ingeborg. His mother, a retired kindergarten teacher, is a beneficiary of two private foundations. She is said to have drawn up a new gift agreement with her son months ago. According to “Spiegel”, a lawyer for the Laura Private Foundation left the lawsuit uncommented and also did not comment on the donation agreement. René Benko’s lawyer also did not comment on this in response to a written request from the APA.
