Austrian former property tycoon Rene Benko will appeal against his second conviction for insolvency-related fraud, his lawyer Norbert Wess said on Friday, Reuters reported. A court in his home city of Innsbruck handed Benko a 15-month suspended prison sentence and fined him 4,320 euros ($5,100) on Wednesday for hiding two luxury watches and four pairs of cuff links from creditors by keeping them inside a safe in the basement of a relative's house. However, the prosecution had sought a conviction based on 11 watches and 120,000 euros in cash found in that safe along with the cuff links.

Austrian ex-property tycoon Rene Benko went on trial for insolvency fraud on Wednesday after a first conviction in October, this time accused of hiding hundreds of thousands of euros' worth of cash and valuables including luxury watches, Reuters reported. The case stems from a sweeping investigation into crimes that prosecutors suspect were committed in connection with the collapse of Benko's property group Signa from 2023 onward. It was Austria's biggest postwar bankruptcy and burnt investors including blue-chip companies in Germany and Switzerland.

Austrian former property billionaire Rene Benko has filed an appeal against his conviction last week for insolvency-related fraud and the two-year prison sentence it incurred, his lawyer said on Monday, Reuters reported. The case stemmed from a sweeping investigation into crimes prosecutors suspect were committed in connection with the collapse beginning in 2023 of Benko's real estate group Signa, Austria's biggest bankruptcy since World War II.

An Austrian court convicted former property billionaire Rene Benko of insolvency-related fraud on Wednesday in his first criminal trial linked to the collapse of his real estate group Signa, sentencing him to two years in prison, Reuters reported. The case stems from a sweeping investigation into crimes prosecutors suspect were committed in connection with Signa's collapse starting in 2023, which was the biggest postwar bankruptcy in Austria and burnt investors across Europe, including blue-chip companies in Germany and Switzerland.

Signa Holding, the insolvent entity at the top of Austrian ex-billionaire Rene Benko's fallen property empire Signa, faces 8.35 billion euros ($9.8 billion) in claims by creditors, of which it disputes 5.6 billion, its administrator said on Friday, Reuters reported. Signa became the biggest casualty of Europe's property downturn when parts of the group's elaborate network of companies filed for insolvency in late 2023.

The Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien ceased operations at its Freyung location on August 21, 2025, after more than four decades. The closure is related to the economic consequences of the Signa insolvency, which made the institution's operations impossible, Aviation.direct reported. The last exhibition at the venerable venue, Mensch Berlin, was a popular success. The show featured more than 120 works of art from the post-war German period and the period of reunification. Thousands of visitors took the opportunity to visit the exhibition and bid farewell to the Kunstforum.

Austrian prosecutors said on Tuesday they were bringing an insolvency-related fraud case against the former billionaire founder of the collapsed Signa property group, Rene Benko, Reuters reported. Benko has been in custody for more than five months as the Central Prosecutors' Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) carries out a wide-ranging investigation into a range of offences including several counts of fraud he and other unnamed people are suspected of.

The insolvent Austrian lingerie manufacturer Palmers Textil AG is being taken over by the Danish company Change of Scandinavia, DPA International reported. The investor's entry secures the continuation of Palmers, a spokesman for the company announced on Monday. The long-established Austrian company declared itself insolvent in February. Change of Scandinavia primarily produces and sells women's underwear under the Change Lingerie fashion brand. Creditors can now expect to receive a total of 20% of their claims in four payments within two years, according to the statement.

Austrian anti-corruption and economic crime prosecutors have wrapped up their initial investigation into the collapse of the Signa property empire and filed a report so that a decision on potential prosecutions can be made, they said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. In a statement, they said there were four new strands, including an investigation into Signa founder Rene Benko and persons unknown on suspicion of favourable treatment to a creditor over a roughly 15 million euro ($17.4 million) repayment relating to a loan to Signa Prime at a time when that Signa unit was insolvent.