The magnate was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of falsifying an bill and making an attempt to cover belongings from collectors, in response to prosecutors.
Rene Benko, the property tycoon and founding father of the now collapsed firm Signa, has been arrested on suspicion of fraud, Austrian prosecutors have mentioned.
The magnate was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of falsifying an bill and making an attempt to cover belongings from collectors, in response to prosecutors.
“The prosecutors’ workplace in command of financial crimes and corruption ordered the arrest of Signa founder Rene Benko”, mentioned a press release from their workplace.
Signa was Austria’s largest privately owned property firm till it declared insolvency in July final yr. On the time, Benko was accused by Austria’s state prosecutor of failing to pay promised charges linked to the insolvency of Signa Group’s holding firm as a enterprise proprietor.
Benko grew to become a self-made billionaire by constructing Signa right into a pan-European firm and overseeing quite a few high-profile acquisitions, together with the landmark KaDeWe retail retailer in central Berlin and the Elbtower venture in Hamburg.
Benko’s defence lawyer Norbert Wess confirmed the arrest to native newspaper KURIER, saying: “A court docket should first resolve inside 48 hours whether or not he’ll stay in custody.”