The dramatic crash of Austrian real estate speculator Rene Benko could be a case for the Guinness Book of Records and for a Netflix movie. Within months, the former Forbes billionaire has become a bankruptcy giant, pursued by former investors. In December 2023, Forbes removed the Signa Group founder from its list of international billionaires. Benko’s private fortune, once estimated at around €5.5 billion in 2023, has seemingly vanished, leaving investors in disbelief.
According to research by various media outlets, a powerful anti-Benko alliance has formed, sparing no expense or effort to track down Benko’s missing assets. This alliance includes the German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne, the French Peugeot family, the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi, the wealthy industrialist family Koranyi-Arduini, and entrepreneur Ernst Tanner. Together, they have invested over €3 billion in Benko’s ventures. Now, they are united by a single goal: ensuring Benko does not retain a single cent.
Since November 2023, a wave of bankruptcies has swept through the opaque corporate network created by Signa founder Benko. A dubious pyramid scheme, billions in debt, and construction ruins have surfaced. Prosecutors in Austria, Liechtenstein, and Germany are investigating allegations of embezzlement, loan fraud, and money laundering. The suspicion of loan fraud is heightened by the aggressive revaluation of real estate within the Signa Group, allowing the reporting of substantial equity and the acquisition of more debt.
Reports have also emerged that liabilities were hidden via complex holding structures. “Benko hid debts in all the Luxembourg intermediate holding companies,” said Karl Gernandt, representative of Signa Prime investor Klaus-Michael Kuehne, to the German media outlet Spiegel. Further obligations to other lenders were concealed, and subsidiaries were lent money without investors’ knowledge, depriving owners of access to the properties.
It appears that creditors will recover nothing from Benko. The former billionaire seems powerless and penniless. However, he continues to live in luxury, chauffeured around, residing in a villa, and guarded by bodyguards. His wife, Nathalie Benko, attends exclusive horse shows, and his daughters still enjoy luxury horses. This raises the question: where is Benko’s money?
Klaus-Michael Kühne invested hundreds of millions of euros in Benko’s Signa empire. His former business partners suspect another Benko scam. German tabloid “Bild” reported a top-secret revenge operation that had been underway for months and was coordinated by a renowned law firm in Vienna. From there, lawyers, forensic experts, and private detectives are being deployed worldwide. Kühne, the Sheikh, and others have already contributed a single-digit million sum to the war chest.
Initial findings from investigators are promising. Reports indicate a real estate treasure is hidden in the Laura Private Foundation, named after Benko’s eldest daughter. Dozens of apartment buildings in eastern Germany trace back to a network of companies belonging to Benko’s foundations.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former Prime Minister of Qatar and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, is also conducting private investigations. In addition, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, known as the “Blood Sheikh,” is pursuing Benko after entrusting him with around €1 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Benko now faces scrutiny from some of the world’s most powerful figures, including bin Salman, the man allegedly responsible for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Investigators have located over a hundred properties in Austria linked to Benko’s foundations, as well as houses in Bolzano and villas on Lake Garda. Despite some encumbrances, the assets are estimated to be worth several hundred million euros. Lawyers are now working to break through the foundation’s protection to access the hidden assets.
Stay tuned to FinTelegram for further updates on this unfolding story.