Trento, Jan 27 (LaPresse) – The anti-corruption prosecutor's office in Vienna, which on Thursday arrested Tyrolean businessman Renè Benko on suspicion of diverting large sums of money from the bankruptcy of the Signa group he headed, has reportedly seized cash and jewellery that the tycoon allegedly hid to evade creditors. The special investigation unit, set up specifically to shed light on the holding company's bankruptcy, reportedly discovered cash and valuables that had been hidden during searches of the tycoon's villa and offices. Benko is also under investigation by the Dda of Trento, which is investigating an alleged criminal association able to domesticate politics and tenders. Seventy-seven people are under investigation, including mayors, politicians, entrepreneurs, professionals, public officials, a journalist and a former senior officer of the Carabinieri. The entrepreneur was the recipient of an arrest warrant by international rogatory as he is considered the head of the alleged criminal association, bid-rigging, illegal party financing, trafficking in unlawful influence, fraud, undue receipt of funds to the detriment of the State, as well as several offences against the public administration, including corruption, undue induction, disclosure of official secrets and omission of official acts, as well as violations of tax regulations related to the issuing of invoices for non-existent transactions. The arrest request was rejected before Christmas by the Austrian judiciary. The Austrian judiciary will decide by 7 February on the continuation of the pre-trial detention of the 47-year-old tycoon, who is in pre-trial detention in an isolation cell equipped with video surveillance in the Austrian capital's Josefstadt prison. The judiciary decided for the pre-trial detention on the assumption that ‘the reasons for the detention are related to the risk of committing other crimes’. During the first interrogation, Benko did not make any statements.
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