The public prosecutor's office in the southern German city of Munich is investigating suspected money laundering at the insolvent Signa Group owned by Austrian entrepreneur René Benko, a spokeswoman told dpa on Wednesday.
The spokeswoman for the investigating authority did not name any specific suspects when asked by dpa, but she pointed out that there is no corporate criminal law in Germany: In other words, companies cannot be investigated, only individuals.
"It goes without saying that the facts of the case will be examined comprehensively from a legal perspective, that is also with regard to other possible criminal offences," the investigators said in a statement.
Until a few months ago, Benko was considered a multibillionaire, with the US magazine Forbes estimating the 46-year-old's fortune at $6 billion at the beginning of 2023.
Since the end of December, however, a whole series of companies from Benko's Signa Group have filed for insolvency.
Benko's convoluted company empire includes a portfolio of assets in Germany: the Elbtower in Hamburg, the luxury department store KaDeWe in Berlin and the department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which is also insolvent.
Benko himself has also filed for insolvency in the capital of the Austrian state of Tyrol, Innsbruck.
The Munich investigations have not yet progressed very far. However, the press release said that other public prosecutors' offices in Germany are also involved in the case. It is apparently currently being clarified where the lead responsibility should lie.
"The exact local responsibilities and thus the sovereignty within Germany still need to be clarified, which is why we have to be cautious with information at the moment," the spokeswoman for the Munich public prosecutor's office explained.
The Signa Group had expanded strongly during the low-interest environment of recent years. However, with the rise in interest rates on loans and construction costs, the group was no longer able to service its debts.
Benko himself has not spoken publicly about the decline of his empire in recent months.
