Not only Signa's founder, René Benko, but also his family foundation, the Benko Family Private Foundation, is now bankrupt. The corresponding insolvency application was received at the regional court in Innsbruck on Thursday, reports “finance-magazin.de”.
The foundation, founded in 2001, previously had the goal of distributing Benko's accumulated assets among family members. As “Der Standard” reported, the distributions have so far gone to Benko's mother, who paid a capital gains tax of 27.5 percent on them. She is said to have almost always given the money to her son after tax deductions.
Arab creditors demand hundreds of millions of euros from family foundation
Regarding the background of the application, the private foundation announced that the restructuring plan of Signa Prime and Signa Development, in which it holds shares through the insolvent Signa Holding, had not produced the desired results. Extrajudicial restructuring efforts were also not “sufficiently successful.”
Furthermore, as Signa Holding was the foundation's most important holding company, they would now be forced to declare bankruptcy.
The private foundation is currently in the middle of arbitration proceedings with Arab creditors demanding hundreds of millions of euros.
Bankruptcy proceedings could bring more clarity to Benko's finances
The regional court in Innsbruck appointed lawyer Herbert Matzunksi as bankruptcy administrator, reports “finance-magazin.de”. He has already carried out several important procedures, such as the bankruptcy procedure of FC Tirol. The process is expected to provide more clarity on Benko's financial situation.
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