Signa: Arrest warrant against manager in Berlin

Of this, more than 8.4 million euros were not repaid. However, the man remained at large under strict reporting requirements.

Cross-border processing of a billion-dollar bankruptcy

The investigations in Berlin are part of the cross-border legal investigation into the billion-dollar bankruptcy of the trading and real estate group. The collapse of the group is considered the largest insolvency in Austrian economic history, with claims in the tens of billions.

The network of companies in Germany included, among others Galeria department store chainthe Berlin luxury department store KaDeWe as well as unfinished major projects such as the Elbtower in Hamburg.

Signa founder Rene Benko was arrested in January 2025 and has been in custody ever since. The Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) is investigating more than a dozen cases against Benko personally, former Signa managers and other suspects.

In two proceedings, the Tyrolean was not legally convicted for damaging creditors. According to the information, the Berlin investigators are working closely with the public prosecutor’s offices in Munich and Vienna through the European judicial authority Eurojust.