Austrian Property Magnate Benko Sentenced To Prison

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Austrian property tycoon René Benko has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after an Innsbruck court found he had caused losses to creditors. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Austrian property magnate Benko sentenced to prison This content was published on September 23, 2026 - 11:38 2 minutes Keystone-SDA

Deutsch de Zweieinhalb Jahre Haft für Investor René Benko Original Read more: Zweieinhalb Jahre Haft für Investor René

The founder of the now-bankrupt Signa property group had paid an advance on rent of €360,000 (CHF338,000) for a property in Innsbruck, even though his business empire was already in a very precarious state, the court said on Tuesday when delivering its verdict.

Benko had already received a two-year jail sentence in October 2025 on these charges. He had, however, been acquitted on one count. The Supreme Court subsequently quashed this acquittal. This led to a retrial, during which the sentence had to be redetermined. The penalty range for the offence is one to ten years' in jail.

Allegation of harming creditors

The charge centred on the allegation that Benko had made an advance payment of €360,000 towards the rent for a second residence even though he was on the verge of insolvency. He is alleged to have harmed his creditors as a result.

According to the APA news agency, Benko pleaded not guilty. He said that at the time he had been convinced that the restructuring of his Signa Group would be successful.

Benko said the house, in addition to his residence at the villa in Igls, had been rented at his wife's request. The aim, he said, was to enable the children to lead a“normal life” and attend school as normal without the need for staff.

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