Explosive details about René Benko’s “architectural sins” in Bolzano

Remuneration for the bribe?

As the KURIER reported at the beginning of December 2024, Italian prosecutors have issued a European arrest warrant against Benko. However, this is not carried out in Austria because Austria does not extradite its own citizens to other countries.

Back to the suspect Werner F.: The investigators claim to have identified his employment at Signa REM Italia as “remuneration for the bribe directed at him”. “Werner F. acted for the criminal organization chaired by Benko-Hager-Signoretti as a liaison to the municipality and the province and ensured that administrative acts that were of interest to the association were accelerated to the detriment of the regular course of proceedings,” it goes on to say.

influence administration

The aim is said to have been not only “to obtain administrative permits in the shortest possible time, but also to obtain changes to urban planning regulations, to gain access to financial resources and to influence the management of public administration.” Werner F. is said to have “a solution to the building sins “ found in the Living Gries project. “From 2013 to 2017, Benko is said to have paid bribes to various public officials in order to prepare for a rapid rezoning of this 36,000 cubic meter site of the former Gries winery,” the files say. However, no further details about the alleged bribes are given.

More inconsistencies

“When construction sins arose, such as the unauthorized roofing (glass roofs) of three arcades, an official and former SVP politician in the municipality of Bolzano ensured that everything was still approved by changing the rules,” it says in the file However, the desired change is said to have not been approved by the local council. But they knew how to help each other. According to the Italian files available to KURIER, the building permit was ultimately granted “without any regulations”.

There are also said to have been inconsistencies in the Waltherplatz project in Bolzano. On the one hand, the distance to the bus station is said to have been only eight meters instead of the required ten meters.

“The superior of the responsible official wanted him to approve the project anyway, which he did not do. So she takes the matter away from him and waves it through,” the files say. In addition, there are said to have been incorrect calculations when building a supermarket on Waltherplatz. Only the upper floor (250,000 cubic meters) was calculated, but not the equally large basement. Instead of resubmitting everything, the project is said to have been waved through. This is said to have saved the project a lot of money.

Allegations denied

The KURIER sent the translated passages from the investigation file to Benko’s defense lawyer Norbert Wess. Wess declined to comment. According to reports, all allegations are denied.