Why two years in prison for former Galeria owner René Benko is just the beginning

Austrian businessman René Benko has been sentenced to two years in prison for hiding money from creditors. This is the first conviction for as the founder of the bankrupt real estate group Signa in a mega-trial whose end is not yet in sight.

To deter

Benko gave 300,000 euros to his mother, which the judge ruled was clearly intended to hide assets from his creditors. She explained that the two-year prison sentence was intended to “deter others from doing something similar.” Benko was acquitted of a second charge—an advance payment of 360,000 euros in rent and costs for a villa.