Benko family trust files for insolvency over $1 billion
The Laura Private Foundation filed for insolvency after a $1 billion award to Abu Dhabi's Mubadala. This follows the collapse of Benko's Signa property group.
The family trust of former real estate mogul Rene Benko has officially filed for insolvency in Austria. This legal move follows a court order requiring the entity to pay approximately $1 billion to companies associated with the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, which is based in the United Arab Emirates.
The insolvency of the Laura Private Foundation, named after Benko’s daughter, marks another chapter in the downfall of the Signa property group. Once the largest insolvency in Austrian history, Signa's portfolio included high-end real estate and luxury hotels across Europe, as well as significant stakes in the department store chain Globus in Switzerland and Selfridges in the United Kingdom.
The board of the foundation cited the massive financial burden from international arbitration as the primary cause for the filing.
Due to payment obligations arising from two arbitration awards, the board of trustees of the Laura Private Foundation has filed for insolvency.
The regional court in Innsbruck confirmed it had received the claim and has since opened the insolvency proceedings. According to the creditors' association KSV 1870, the International Court of Arbitration in Switzerland mandated the trust to pay €900 million to three Emirati firms earlier this year. KSV 1870 official Klaus Schaller noted that these companies are subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.
Rene Benko remains incarcerated following his arrest a year ago. He has faced multiple convictions related to insolvency fraud, receiving both prison time and a suspended sentence in late 2025. Benko continues to deny all allegations of wrongdoing and is currently appealing his convictions.
