Fußfessel für Ex-Milliardär: Hausarrest statt Gefängnis für Signa-Gründer Benko

René Benko, the former billionaire founder of the Signa conglomerate, has been sentenced to house arrest with ankle monitoring instead of imprisonment. This decision was made by the Innsbruck Regional Court, according to a spokesperson for the German Press Agency. Benko's lawyer argued that his client required proper preparation for ongoing legal proceedings outside of prison walls.

The ex-billionaire was convicted in September of a two-and-a-half-year jail term in a partially retried case. The court deemed it proven that the 49-year-old had fraudulently damaged his creditors. He had given a 360,000 Euro advance for property costs at a property in Innsbruck, despite the Signa corporate empire being already in a critical state due to the ex-businessman's fraudulent and embezzlement allegations.

Benko was arrested in January 2025. The complex Signa business is under investigation by Austria's State Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) for fraud, betrayal and bankruptcy. Additional charges could follow. More trial dates are set. The businessman built a billion-dollar fortune over the course of 20 years with his nested real estate and trade empire Signa.

Rising interest rates, construction costs, and risky acquisitions such as the German retail chains Karstadt and Kaufhof had driven Signa into bankruptcy. Further trial dates are already set for the ex-billionaire on November 4-5. The role of house arrest is for Benko to appear before the Innsbruck Regional Court to face accusations of serious fraud and damaging his creditors on November 4-5.

The State Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) accuses Benko of making a dishonest guarantee to an investor and criminally damaging their foundation with a loan of around five million Euros.