Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office Investigates Signa Case Against René Benko and Dieter Berninghaus

Summary

The Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office has stepped into the investigation of the Signa Group's multi-billion euro collapse and is informing Austrian authorities about assets and evidence in Switzerland. At the center of the investigation are René Benko, the founder of the insolvent real estate and retail group, and Dieter Berninghaus, the former Migros manager and Signa chief strategist. A key investigative strand concerns a 16.7 million euro transfer from Signa to Berninghaus, which was structurally organized as a loan, while Berninghaus claims it was a share sale.

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Federal Prosecutor's Office Steps In

The spectacular multi-billion euro collapse of René Benko's Signa Group has also caught the attention of Swiss authorities. In July 2025, the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Bern contacted its colleagues in Vienna with information about reasonable grounds for suspicion. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, evidence and assets in Switzerland point to criminal offences in Austria. The investigators are not conducting their own proceedings in Switzerland but are available if Austria submits a mutual legal assistance request.

Reports from Swiss Banks

Three Swiss banks triggered the Federal Prosecutor's Office letter. In spring 2025, they informed the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) about business relationships related to René Benko. The banks reported three bank accounts that, at the time of reporting, each held funds in the seven-figure range. The Federal Prosecutor's Office classified these as assets of Benko and legal entities under his control, allegedly generated from criminal offences, particularly bankruptcy crimes.

The Disputed 16.7 Million Euro Transfer

A key investigative strand of the WKStA (Vienna Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office) concerns money flows between René Benko and Dieter Berninghaus. In May 2022, the Signa Group transferred 16.7 million euros to a company called Sarpis Holding in Vienna. The money was transferred the same day to a company in Canton Obwalden, then to another account of the same company, and finally to a real estate company that used it to purchase a house in Küsnacht. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, all participating companies are attributable to Dieter Berninghaus's wife.

The Austrian investigators view this transfer as an economically unjustifiable loan that was allegedly used to purchase a private house. They accuse Berninghaus of breach of trust, claiming he thereby harmed Signa. However, the presumption of innocence applies.

Contradiction Between Benko and Berninghaus

The two former business partners contradict each other fundamentally: Dieter Berninghaus claims that he sold part of his stake in Signa and received payment for it. He emphasizes that it was always clear to him that this was a share sale. That the transfer was structured as a loan was solely René Benko's decision. Benko, on the other hand, insists that it was a loan from the Signa Group to Berninghaus.

Background: Joint Plans and Falling Out

After leaving Migros in 2016, Berninghaus joined Signa and was long one of René Benko's closest confidants. The experienced retail manager and shrewd businessman planned together to build a group of luxury department stores. They acquired, among others, Globus in Switzerland and Selfridges in Great Britain. In May 2023, Berninghaus withdrew from Signa for health reasons – just months before the entire group collapsed.

In Signa's opaque structure, Berninghaus held no operational role. He was only connected to the group through a consulting contract. His stake was discretely organized: From 2017 onwards, there was an agreement between a company of his wife's in Canton Obwalden and the Benko Family Foundation.

In the final months before the collapse, mutual distrust between the two escalated. They bombarded each other with serious accusations – involving secret surveillance and recorded conversations in luxury chalets. From pre-trial detention, Benko recently escalated further, claiming that Berninghaus was not just a consultant but one of Signa's top managers – as if to say: if I fall, you fall too.

Status of Investigations

The real estate and retail group slipped into insolvency at the end of 2023. In the meantime, the WKStA is investigating René Benko and other former Signa managers along fourteen different lines of inquiry. Benko has been in pre-trial detention for nearly a year. He is accused of fraud and other serious bankruptcy crimes.

In 2025, Benko was convicted twice of fraudulent bankruptcy for allegedly concealing assets from his creditors. Both verdicts are not yet final. Further indictments could follow. In addition to Austria, prosecutors in Germany and Italy are also investigating the Signa founder.

Benko is trying by all means to get out of pre-trial detention. His lawyers are attempting to discredit witnesses and are inundating the courts with motions. His latest request for release before Christmas 2025 failed.

The Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office states on request that it is currently not conducting its own criminal proceedings. So far, no mutual legal assistance request from Vienna has been received by the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Bern.

Key Findings

• The Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office has informed Austrian investigators about assets and evidence in Switzerland that could indicate criminal offences
• Three Swiss banks reported seven-figure amounts on accounts related to René Benko to the MROS
• A central conflict exists over the nature of a 16.7 million euro transfer in 2022: Berninghaus sees a share sale, Benko claims it was a loan
• The convoluted money flows from the Austrian company via a Swiss holding to the real estate company raise questions about structuring
• René Benko is in pre-trial detention and has already been convicted twice of bankruptcy crimes
• The two formerly close business partners are irrevocably at odds and level serious accusations against each other
• Investigations are proceeding in Austrian, German, and Italian jurisdictions along multiple lines of inquiry

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