Detention against Rene Benko extended

A request by Rene Benko's defense for release was rejected, and the pre-trial detention was extended by another two months until August 26, as court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn informed upon request from the APA.

Court Continues to See Risk of Offense by Rene Benko

The court continues to assume a risk of offense. The decision, according to which Rene Benko would have to spend the summer in the Josefstadt prison, is not legally binding. Neither Rene Benko's legal representatives nor the representative of the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) initially made a statement. The law provides for the possibility of appealing against further detention, which would have to be submitted to the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Vienna within three days. So far, Rene Benko, who was arrested in Innsbruck on January 23 and has been in pre-trial detention since January 24, has avoided the path to the OLG and instead repeatedly submitted release applications to the Regional Court for Criminal Matters.

Numerous Allegations Against Rene Benko

The WKStA, which is apparently preparing an initial indictment against Rene Benko, insisted on the continuation of pre-trial detention before today's detention hearing and considered flight risk as another possible reason for detention. However, the court did not assume the presence of this reason for detention. Criminal investigations into numerous allegations are ongoing against Benko in connection with the Signa bankruptcy. One of the strands of facts has already been turned into a so-called intention report by the WKStA, which presumably contains the draft of an initial indictment and is already being reviewed by the higher authorities. If approved, it could soon lead to a first trial against Rene Benko.

(APA/Red)

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