Ankle bracelet for ex-billionaire: House arrest instead of prison for Signa founder Benko

A few weeks ago, René Benko was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for damaging his creditors. At the same time, he spent many months in custody. Now he gets some relief.

The investor René Benko is placed under electronically monitored house arrest after a long period of custody.

Innsbruck. The real estate investor René Benko moves from prison to house arrest with an ankle bracelet. A corresponding application from the Signa founder was granted by the Innsbruck regional court, as a court spokeswoman told the German Press Agency. His lawyer had argued that Benko could only adequately prepare for further proceedings outside of prison.

The 49-year-old will move into an apartment and will not return to his usual home environment, the court spokeswoman said. This apartment will now be equipped with electronic equipment so that the house arrest can be monitored. Benko would then be allowed to leave this apartment once a day for an hour, and he would also be allowed to go shopping twice a week.

On top of that, Benko is banned from communicating with people close to the Signa Group and a private foundation. The public prosecutor's immediate complaint against this step had no suspensive effect, the spokeswoman continued.

The ex-billionaire was only sentenced to two and a half years in prison in September in a partially reopened trial. The Innsbruck regional court considered it proven that the 49-year-old had fraudulently damaged his creditors. According to the court, he paid an advance on rent costs of 360,000 euros for a property in Innsbruck, even though his Signa company empire was already very critical.

Benko was arrested in January 2025. In the extensive Signa complex, Austria's economic and corruption prosecutor's office (WKStA) suspects the once very respected businessman of fraud, breach of trust and bankruptcy. More charges could follow.

The businessman had built up a billion-dollar fortune with his complex real estate and trading empire Signa over around 20 years. Rising interest rates and construction costs, as well as risky acquisitions such as those of the German department store groups Karstadt and Kaufhof, drove Signa into bankruptcy.

Benko and other Signa managers are being investigated in several other strands. The dates for the next trial against the ex-billionaire have already been set. On November 4th and 5th, the Tyrolean will have to answer again at the Innsbruck regional court, this time because of allegations of serious fraud and damage to his creditors. The Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) accuses Benko of giving an untruthful guarantee to an investor and fraudulently damaging his foundation to the tune of around five million euros.