(Reuters) – The arrest of Rene Benko on Thursday marks a new low for the Austrian property magnate following the collapse of his business empire, Signa Holding.
Benko, 47, who has previously denied wrongdoing, became a self-made billionaire by building Signa from the ground up, borrowing heavily in an era of super-low interest rates that began to end in 2022.
Following are major developments in the saga.
INSOLVENCY
Signa Holding filed for insolvency in November 2023, triggering a domino effect across its vast retail and real-estate portfolio with holdings ranging from New York’s Chrysler building to shares in Britain’s Selfridges department store.
Debts at Signa, whose other properties included the Alsterarkaden and the Alsterhaus in Hamburg, department stores KaDeWe in Berlin and Oberpollinger in Munich, and buildings in Vienna’s exclusive Golden Quarter shopping district, were estimated at around 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion).
Over the ensuing weeks and months, subsidiaries of Signa headed for bankruptcy as administrators sought to rescue what they could of creditors’ investments.
In February 2024, the CEO of Julius Baer stepped down after the Swiss bank wrote down 586 million Swiss francs ($646 million) on loans to Signa.
SELLOFF
In December 2023, Signa began holding talks to sell its stake in the Chrysler Building and shed its private jet.
In March 2024, Italian sports retailer Cisalfa Sport said it would buy Sportscheck, after the German company filed for insolvency following the collapse of Signa, its parent.
In April 2024, Signa unit Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof said it would be purchased by a consortium of U.S. investor Richard Baker and German businessman Bernd Beetz.
Later that week, Thai retailer Central Group said it had acquired a landmark KaDeWe property in central Berlin from Signa. In June it agreed to buy the rest of the KaDeWe Group.
Also in April 2024, Signa sold the luxury Hotel Bauer on Venice’s Grand Canal as part of a deal with Germany’s Schoeller Group.
In September 2024, Central Group said would take over the operational business of Signa unit Magazine zum Globus AG, which runs luxury department stores in Switzerland.
PERSONAL WOES
In March 2024, Benko filed for sole trader insolvency himself at an Austrian court.
In April 2024, Benko’s lawyer said Austria’s anti-corruption prosecutor had opened an investigation into the businessman on suspicion of fraud.
In May 2024, Benko made a rare public appearance to face Austrian lawmakers, who questioned him over possible government favours, but he declined to give many answers.
In June 2024, police raided Benko’s villa looking for documents related to ongoing investigations.
In December 2024, it emerged an Italian judge had ordered the arrest of Benko and others as part of an investigation into alleged corruption of politicians in Italy. Austrian prosecutors said they were not planning an arrest over the order.
In January 2025, Benko is arrested by Austrian authorities on suspicion of trying to hide assets from insolvency administrators and creditors.
($1 = 0.9176 euros)
($1 = 0.9072 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi; Editing by Dave Graham and Mark Potter)
