The first trial against former Signa founder René Benko ended on Wednesday at the Innsbruck Regional Court. Benko was acquitted on one count and found guilty on another. The court sentenced Benko to 24 months in prison, which is not yet legally binding.

Things were happening in the jury room at the Innsbruck Regional Court on Wednesday. One witness after another took their seats before the panel of lay judges. The first Signa trial involved water damage in the Benkos' house, a landslide, a rental agreement, and, of course, money transfers.

The corruption prosecutor's office viewed Benko's payments in connection with the Signa bankruptcy in 2023 as an attempt to hide funds from creditors. In one case, the suspicion was that Benko had made a large advance rent payment for a villa belonging to Benko's company, which, according to the prosecutor's office, was uninhabitable, and in the other case, the question in the trial revolved around whether the villa was habitable and therefore a rent advance payment was justified. In this case, the lay judge's court acquitted Benko. The court could not determine the condition of the villa, hence the acquittal.

24 months in prison for giving to Benko's mother

On the second count, namely the payments to Benko's mother and the transfer of funds to Benko's mother's foundation, the court found the charges met and sentenced Benko to 24 months' unconditional imprisonment for"general preventive reasons" so that "the average citizen can believe that such a thing won't happen," the judge said. The time spent in pre-trial detention will be credited to Benko. Benko's defense attorneys made no statement. The verdict is therefore not yet final.

This is how the second day of the trial went

The second day of the trial began much like the previous one: René Benko was once again barely visible as he entered the courtroom shortly after nine. Once again, he was accompanied by broad-shouldered prison guards in bulletproof vests who towered far over him.

Benko has been in pretrial detention since January, and it was obvious: dark circles under his eyes, pale. On Wednesday, the Tyrolean remained standing, not sitting down until the judge called the criminal case and all cameramen and photographers were ordered to leave the courtroom. He apparently didn't want to be photographed sitting in the prosecutor's chair on Wednesday either.

Almost all of the witnesses came from Benko's circle and Signa Holding: a former manager of the company, former managing director Markus Mühlberger, and a former controller were summoned. The latter and the former manager are under investigation. The former controller is suspected of perjury in another case related to the Signa complex, and according to the judge, the former manager is himself a defendant"in a major criminal case in Vienna." Both were asked to answer a simple question: Was the Hungerburg in Innsbruck habitable in 2023 or not?

Yes, said the former manager. Even though he himself had never been there during that period. But why did he assume that? Benko himself approached him and told him that he wanted to live in the villa with his wife, he told the court. The defendant wrote the draft contract. There were no other interested parties in the house."It's not a run-of-the-mill property." Benko himself listened intently to his former employee's words, occasionally placing a finger to his upper lip and looking intently at the screen in front of him, where the judge was showing contracts for the renovation and refurbishment costs of the house.

This first trial against Benko involved damages of €660,000 – it is likely that further trials will follow in the coming years. Until a final conviction is reached, the presumption of innocence applies.