"After a two-day trial in an Innsbruck court, the 48-year-old was found guilty of a charge relating to €300,000 (£261,000) that he gave his mother in 2023. Prosecutors alleged he had shifted this sum just before filing for insolvency to shield it from creditors in what would become Europe's biggest bankruptcy since the 2008-09 financial crisis. His creditors reportedly include billionaire families, sovereign wealth funds from Asia and the Gulf and banks including private Swiss financier Julius Baer."
"His elaborately structured corporate empire, Signa, came unstuck amid rising interest rates and sagging property prices in 2023, ending a decade-long, worldwide real estate spree. After dropping out of high school at 17, Mr Benko became one of Austria's richest and best connected entrepreneurs. Forbes valued his personal fortune at €6bn. His trappings reportedly included a Tyrolean hunting estate, two private jets, a €30m luxury yacht and an €11m Picasso painting."
Rene Benko was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of insolvency fraud related to a €300,000 transfer to his mother in 2023. Prosecutors said the payment was shifted just before filing for insolvency to shield funds from creditors in what became one of Europe’s largest bankruptcies since 2008-09. Benko faces more than a dozen further charges and is under investigation in Germany and Italy. His Signa property empire collapsed in 2023 amid rising interest rates and falling property values, affecting high-profile assets and diverse international creditors.
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