Sebastian Kurz and the Signa debacle: Million claim in insolvency chaos

Sebastian Kurz and the Signa debacle: Million claim in insolvency chaos

In the past few weeks, a explosive story in the vicinity of the former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has caused excitement, which has both political and economic dimensions. On September 11, 2023, Kurz made an invoice to Signa Lima GmbH in Innsbruck over a sum of 2.4 million euros. This bill, which was paid after only two weeks, attracted attention because the payment was not made by Lima GmbH, but by Signa Prime Selection AG. Where this change comes from and what reasons behind it remains unclear how news.at reports.

The financial transaction is also brought to the fore by the role of the Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Vienna, which completed the payment without responding to inquiries regarding PR or test processes. This is in contrast to the keeping of Credit Suisse, which apparently has obtained objections to similar payments. Raiffeisenbank also kept the information about internal exams secret and relies on banking secrecy.

bankruptcy and financial entanglements

The situation is even more complicated by the bankruptcy of the Signa empire by René Benko, the closest confidante by Sebastian Kurz. As reports profile.at, SK Management GmbH of the Signa Group with an open claim of 1.65 million euros is in chalk. In particular, Signa SFS Austria GmbH (formerly Signa Lima GmbH) submitted the bank on January 23 at the Vienna Commercial Court and the proceedings were opened on January 25th.

The numbers are alarming: the liabilities of the Signa SFS amount to 23.3 million euros, while the assets are only 213,000 euros. Due to the strong decline in demand for the company's financing consulting services, this step was necessary. The fee claim of SK Management GmbH results, among other things, from the imparting of an investment over $ 100 million, of which many questions about economic justification are still raised.

a wider image of insolvency statistics

The bankruptcies not only affect significant economic entities, they are also part of a larger trend in corporate demography in Austria. According to [Statistics Austria] (https://www.statistics.at/statistiken/ industrie-bau-hand-hand-feiten-und-unternehmsdemography/registratungen-und-insolven), quarterly data on corporate registrations and bankruptcies have been published since the first quarter of 2021. This data check is regulated by the European Ordinance on Corporate Statistics and ensures that the information about bankruptcy and legal units is constantly updated. In the last phase of 2023, the Signa Group also experienced massive difficulties.

It will be interesting to see how the legally registered claims and the financial ceiling of the Signa Group will develop in the next few weeks. The first assembly of creditors is advised for March 20 and could bring some insightful details to light.