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...A Signa Group company transferred more than €300mn to two entities controlled by the family of its Austrian founder René Benko before the collapse of the property giant, according to financial documents...
...Creditors of René Benko’s Signa have filed a criminal complaint with Austrian anti-fraud prosecutors, calling for an urgent investigation into the collapsed property group....
...Creditors of one of the main companies in René Benko’s Signa Group have alleged it fell into insolvency because of “illicit” financial transactions, not a downturn in the European property market....
...Austria’s anti-corruption prosecutors have opened an investigation into property mogul René Benko for allegedly defrauding a bank....
...Further reading:— Signa unravelled: inside René Benko’s debt-laden property empire (FT)— Signa sold prized KaDeWe property at cut price (FT)— How Austria’s political elite helped René Benko’s rise (FT)...
...He acted as a handler for a German husband and wife, Ina F and Herwig F, who owned a business in Düsseldorf, the prosecutor said in a statement....
...Liechtenstein’s chief public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the financial affairs of the Austrian property mogul René Benko for possible money laundering and fraud in the tiny, secretive alpine...
...For years René Benko cultivated close political relationships in his native Austria....
...René Benko’s two foundations, which are opaque, sit at the top....
...In November, one of Globus’s ultimate co-owners, René Benko’s Signa Group, collapsed. This tale is really Signa’s story....
...Timo Herzberg, an appointee and ally of Signa founder René Benko, has had his contract terminated with immediate effect, the group said on Monday evening....
...The couple — named only as Ina and Herwig F — were arrested alongside their contact with Chinese authorities, Thomas R, Germany’s federal prosecutor said on Monday....
...Billionaire property developer René Benko has been ousted from his real estate empire Signa amid a cash crunch that threatens to hit European lenders exposed to the indebted Austrian group....
...KaDeWe, Germany’s most famous and exclusive department store, filed for administration on Monday, becoming the latest casualty of René Benko’s crumbling property empire....
...The rapid unravelling of the group has left lenders across Europe racing to assess their exposure to the business empire of Austrian billionaire René Benko and work out what claims they might have on Signa...
...Creditors to the two biggest companies in René Benko’s property empire will receive just €2.5bn back, from more €15bn of claims, according to a five-year windup plan approved on Monday....
...Signa has appointed a new chair to spearhead a restructuring of the indebted European property group after shareholders rebelled against founder René Benko....
...So its founder René Benko did one of the things he did best: he threw a party....
...sam.jones@ft.com Letter in response to this article: Vienna was at the centre of global crisis once before / From Dr John Doherty, Vienna, Austria...
...The 117-year old institution, which is jointly owned by René Benko’s Signa Holding and Thailand’s Central Group, said it could not afford to pay rent on its store in Berlin, one of Europe’s biggest luxury...
...Munich’s state prosecutor is looking into allegations of money laundering at the Signa Group, René Benko’s collapsed luxury property empire....
...Sam Jones So we know some banks were quite significant lenders to René Benko and to Signa. For example, Julius Baer in Switzerland has over SFr600mn of exposure to the Signa group....
...German insurers including Munich Re and Allianz have amassed more than €3bn of exposure to the struggling property empire owned by real estate billionaire René Benko....
...The administrator for the company at the centre of René Benko’s property empire has sacked the party planners, receptionists, hunters and private jet crew that together made up most of its staff, a court...
...René Benko’s luxury property group sold the stake in the west Berlin property to Thailand’s Central Group in March for about €300mn, according to three people directly familiar with the transaction, as it...
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