Key facts
- Rene Benko was found guilty of insolvency fraud at a retrial in Innsbruck.
- His prison sentence was increased to 30 months.
- The conviction relates to an advance rent payment of about €360,000.
- Benko was previously convicted in October on a separate insolvency fraud charge.
- The Signa property group, founded by Benko, collapsed in late 2023.
An Austrian court on Tuesday found former property tycoon Rene Benko guilty of insolvency fraud at a retrial, increasing his prison sentence to 30 months from the original two years. The case is the first to emerge from a wider criminal investigation into the collapse of the Signa property group Benko founded, which failed in late 2023 and became Austria's biggest post-war bankruptcy, leaving investors across Europe with losses.