Investigations into suspected money laundering at Signa in Germany
Published: Wednesday, Mar 13th 2024, 18:40
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In times of cheap credit, Austrian entrepreneur René Benko built up a real estate and company empire. Now public prosecutors are investigating suspicions of criminal activity in the group of companies.
The Munich public prosecutor's office has confirmed investigations into suspected money laundering at the insolvent Signa Group owned by Austrian entrepreneur René Benko. This was stated by a spokeswoman for the investigating authority on Wednesday, without naming one or more of the suspects. However, she pointed out that there is no corporate criminal law in Germany - in other words, companies cannot be investigated, only individuals.
"It goes without saying that the facts of the case will be comprehensively examined from a legal perspective, i.e. also with regard to possible other criminal offenses," the investigators said in their statement. Bild am Sonntag first reported on the proceedings at the weekend.
Until a few months ago, Benko was considered a multi-billionaire, with the US magazine "Forbes" valuing the 46-year-old's assets at 6 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) at the beginning of 2023. Since the end of December, however, a whole series of companies from Benko's Signa Group have filed for insolvency. Benko's convoluted corporate empire includes the Elbtower project in Hamburg, the luxury department store KaDeWe in Berlin and the department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which is also insolvent. In Switzerland, the group owns half of the luxury department store Globus, among others.
Benko also files for personal insolvency
In the meantime, Benko himself has also filed for insolvency in the Tyrolean capital of Innsbruck. Among other things, this relates to an unpaid subsidy that Benko had announced for the insolvent holding company of the Signa Group.
The Munich investigations have not yet progressed very far. However, the press release revealed that other public prosecutors' offices in Germany are also involved in the case. It is apparently currently being clarified where the lead responsibility should lie. "The exact local responsibilities and thus the press jurisdiction within Germany still need to be clarified, which is why we have to be cautious with information at the moment," explained the spokeswoman for the Munich public prosecutor's office.
The Signa Group had expanded strongly during the low-interest phase of recent years. However, with the simultaneous rise in interest rates and construction costs, the group was no longer able to service its debts. Benko himself has not commented publicly on the decline of his empire in recent months.
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