A civil lawsuit filed against her by the insolvency administrator in the Benko bankruptcy proceedings was fully dismissed in the first instance by the Innsbruck Regional Court, court spokeswoman Birgit Fink confirmed to the APA on Thursday, following an online report by the "Standard".

With the lawsuit, insolvency administrator Andreas Grabenweger aimed to ensure that the founder's rights to two private foundations - the Laura Private Foundation based in Innsbruck and the Ingbe Foundation in Vaduz, Liechtenstein - would be transferred to him and not remain in the hands of Ingeborg Benko as the primary founder. He assumed that her son always retained control over the two foundations, in which a large fortune is said to be "parked", and that his mother was merely a "front woman". In the Laura Private Foundation alone, assets in the triple-digit million range are said to be parked.

Possibility of Appeal

The judgment was not yet legally binding. The insolvency administrator has the option to appeal. If so, the Innsbruck Higher Regional Court (OLG Innsbruck) would have to deal with it. The judgment has now been received by the insolvency administrator, according to Grabenweger's office upon inquiry. They stated they would "carefully analyze" it and then make appropriate decisions, not yet committing to an appeal. According to a reliable source, a "new, improved lawsuit" is to be filed.

At the end of January, an initial hearing took place at the Innsbruck Regional Court. The proceedings were initially concluded by the judge after one hour. The reason: Following a request from the mother's legal representative, he decided to first clarify a legal question. This has now been done, and the responsible judge dismissed the lawsuit. The central reason: According to the judgment, there is a "lack of interest in determination" on the plaintiff's side, i.e., the insolvency administrator, as court spokeswoman Fink and Hermann Pfurtscheller, Innsbruck lawyer for Benko's mother, explained to the APA. This means that the plaintiff, in the court's view, has no interest or claim to have it determined to whom the rights granted in the foundation declaration rightfully belong. Instead, such a question should be clarified between the founder and the foundation, it was stated. The insolvency administrator wanted it established that the 74-year-old mother of the Tyrolean entrepreneur could not exercise her rights without her son's consent.

Since this legal question was clarified in the court's judgment, it was consequently decided not to separately address the second legal question, namely whether - legally formulated - there is a "lack of passive legitimacy." Simply put: Whether the wrong person was sued and whether the foundations and Benko himself should have been sued as well, thus constituting a "joinder of parties." The judge had already expressed at least doubts about this passive legitimacy during the hearing.

Attorney Pfurtscheller was not surprised by the positive outcome of the proceedings for his client in the first instance. He was convinced that, after a legal assessment of all the facts, only such a decision could be made. And he had "always said" and maintained that the founder's rights of Benko's mother cannot and should not be curtailed in the future.

Benko's Mother with Legal Victory Already in 2024

Benko's mother had already achieved a legal victory over the insolvency administrator last year, regarding an application for a preliminary injunction filed by the latter. The Regional Court of Innsbruck initially granted this. However, only one and a half months later, at the end of July, it was publicly announced that the Higher Regional Court of Innsbruck (OLG) upheld Benko's mother's appeal against the decision of the Regional Court and lifted the preliminary injunction. With the latter, Grabenweger aimed to achieve the immediate restriction of the mother's founder's rights. This would likely mean that the mother would no longer be able to make changes to the foundation declarations or the two foundation statutes.

This year, the insolvency administrator tried again with such a preliminary injunction. However, a hearing did not take place because: A settlement was reached between both parties. It was agreed that Ingeborg Benko would inform the insolvency administrator in advance about intended changes in the foundation in the future. However, he still has no influence on her actions and cannot prevent anything, emphasized attorney Pfurtscheller. A preliminary injunction is definitely off the table.

(APA/Red)

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