At a time when the world is grappling with the fallout from Klaus Schwab’s resignation and the financial scandal around the World Economic Forum (WEF), a new power center has emerged in the shadows: the World Economic Council (WEC), operating from a virtual office in Vienna and led by figures now tied to one of Europe’s biggest white-collar scandals — the collapse of René Benko’s Signa Group.
Swiss entrepreneur in Thurgau and coffee king Arthur Eugster has reportedly lost CHF 650 million in the collapse of Rene Benko’s Signa empire—one of the largest individual financial losses in Swiss history. As public prosecutors in Austria probe the inner circle of Benko’s fraudulent network, two familiar names from past scandals resurface: Robert Schimanko and Thomas Limberger. Both men, now linked to Benko’s foundations.
The financial world in Europe is still reeling from the collapse of Rene Benko’s Signa Group, one of the largest and most scandalous bankruptcies in European history. Amid the rubble, a curious pattern has emerged: leading figures from the World Economic Council (WEC) — including Robert Schimanko, Thomas Limberger, and their legal advisor and business partner William H. Shawn — have quietly moved into strategic leadership positions within foundations linked to Benko.