# Austrian tycoon Rene Benko sentenced to 2 years in prison for fraud

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/austrian-tycoon-rene-benko-sentenced-to-2-years-in-prison-for-fraud/
- Published: 2026-11-05T20:38:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T21:39:33+00:00
- Original publisher: DW (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.dw.com/en/austrian-tycoon-rene-benko-sentenced-to-2-years-in-prison-for-fraud/a-79870056?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Benko received a further two-year prison sentence for fraud.
- The court acquitted him over an €80,000 rifle.
- His lawyer is considering an appeal.

## Summary

Austrian property tycoon Rene Benko has been sentenced to a further two years in prison after a court found him guilty of defrauding €5 million from industrialist Hans Peter Haselsteiner’s private foundation. The payment was made weeks before Benko’s property group, Signa Holding, declared insolvency.

The Innsbruck Regional Court acquitted Benko of a separate charge that he hid an €80,000 luxury rifle from creditors. It was his third criminal case: he had previously received sentences of 30 months and, in October 2025, another term for insolvency-related fraud. His lawyer said he would consider an appeal; Benko had recently been released to house arrest to serve an earlier sentence. Signa’s 2023 collapse followed a period when its portfolio was valued at more than $30 billion.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.