Benko seeks electronic house arrest

Signa founder Rene Benko has applied to serve house arrest under electronic monitoring, ORF reported, citing confirmation from his lawyer and the Innsbruck Regional Court. Benko is currently in pre-trial detention at Innsbruck prison.

A hearing to review his detention is scheduled for Wednesday in Innsbruck and will be held behind closed doors. Previous detention reviews in Benko’s case took place in Vienna.

The Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office submitted a six-page statement opposing electronic monitoring, according to the Kurier newspaper. Benko’s lawyer, Norbert Wess, argued that his client could properly prepare for upcoming complex trials only outside prison.

A 60-square-metre apartment has been rented in Innsbruck for the house arrest, the report said, to spare Benko’s family. The decision could be challenged at the Innsbruck Higher Regional Court.

Prosecutors are investigating 17 separate matters connected to the insolvency of the Signa property group. Benko is not a suspect in every strand of the investigation; allegations also concern other senior Signa executives.

In late September, Benko was finally sentenced to 30 months in prison for fraudulent bankruptcy. Having already served two-thirds of the term while in pre-trial detention, he was conditionally released from that sentence. His pre-trial detention continued immediately afterward. His next trial, on allegations of aggravated fraud and fraudulent bankruptcy, is scheduled for November 4 and 5 at the Innsbruck Regional Court.