The former giant of the real estate industry, René Benko, is constantly facing new problems. While his empire is slowly crumbling and one of his companies after another is sliding into bankruptcy, now his family is also facing difficulties. The Austrian tax authority has seized the family's villa in Innsbruck, as evidenced by documents available to SPIEGEL. The reason for this: insufficient payment of value-added tax for over seven years. The total claim amounts to over 12 million euros.
The villa belongs to Schlosshotel Igls Betriebs GmbH & Co. KG and is controlled through the complex ownership structure of the Laura Private Foundation. This was originally founded by René Benko and his mother Ingeborg, with Benko's daughter Laura also registered as a beneficiary. The property has a size of over 1000 square meters, including a 4400 square meter garden and an 85 square meter outbuilding. Benko paid 11.1 million euros for the purchase at the time.
The tax authority's claims date back to 2016 when Schlosshotel Igls Betriebs GmbH purchased the luxurious estate and Benko had the old villa demolished to build a new one. The annual amounts vary from 77,014.87 Euros in 2017 to 5,222,479.14 Euros in 2021.
The Laura Private Foundation has claimed to the Austrian broadcaster ORF that the reports on the villa are "false and misleading". The company, which owns the GmbH, has paid all taxes properly and even received a VAT refund from the tax office. The view of the tax office that the already refunded VAT must be repaid is strongly rejected by the owner of the property.
In the Laura Private Foundation, in addition to the villa, other valuable assets of the Benko family are stored, such as the yacht "Roma", which was often used for business meetings with investors and adorned with Signa flags at major trade shows such as the real estate show Mipim in Cannes. Also included in the foundation is an extensive art collection worth around 30 million euros, which already includes a Picasso and a Basquiat.
Meanwhile, the companies of the Signa Group are fighting for survival. In addition to Signa Holding, important real estate companies such as Signa Prime and Signa Development have also had to file for self-administered insolvency. Whether they can free themselves from this difficult situation remains to be seen.
