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Construction noise stops interrogation: Benko has to wait for explosive details!
Rene Benko, former managing director, is in custody in Josefstadt. Interrogation interrupted due to fraud – new dates planned.
Construction noise stops interrogation: Benko has to wait for explosive details!
Ex-Signa managing director Rene Benko has been in custody at the Josefstadt prison since January 24, 2025. He is accused of a whole series of serious allegations, including serious fraud, infidelity and fraudulent Krida. The situation of the controversial real estate entrepreneur has continued to deteriorate since the Vienna public prosecutor's office initiated a comprehensive investigation, as Deutschlandfunk reports.
On Wednesday, June 12, 2025, Benko was scheduled to be questioned by two senior prosecutors from the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office. But the session got off to a rocky start: after the interrogation began at 10:20 a.m., it had to be interrupted after just a few minutes due to extreme construction noise. Despite efforts to find a quieter room for the negotiations, those responsible were faced with the fact that no suitable room was available. The new interrogation finally started at 10:40 a.m. when Benko initially had difficulties understanding when answering a question. Suddenly the interrogator decided to stop the interrogation altogether at 11 a.m. because the noise in the building made communication impossible. A new appointment at a different location will now be set to clarify the explosive details that Benko wanted to announce about a controversial villa deal and the role of former Signa finance boss Manuel P., as Heute reports.
Pretrial detention and allegations
The situation around Benko escalated when he was arrested in Innsbruck. He is accused of concealing assets in order to prevent creditors, insolvency administrators and authorities from accessing them. After the collapse of his corporate network, which also included major German department store groups, he is faced with claims totaling around 2.4 billion euros. These far-reaching allegations demonstrate a worrying development in the area of white-collar crime, which not only affects him, but also many other aggrieved parties, as the Federal Criminal Police Office summarizes in its current situation report on white-collar crime.
Economic crime is defined as the commission of crimes that abuse trust, usually within the framework of a fake economic activity. These crimes can result in massive financial losses and affect both individuals and the general public. In Benko's case, too, everything indicates that the dimensions of the crimes could have far-reaching consequences, as Bundeskritikamt emphasizes.
The ongoing investigations and ongoing pre-trial detention cast a shadow over the real estate entrepreneur's once illustrious career. What began as a success story could now lead to a profound scandal, the consequences of which are far from being foreseeable. Stay tuned, we will keep you updated on developments!