The former Austrian real estate mogul René Benko has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding his creditors, a panel of judges announced on Wednesday.
The judges at the Innsbruck Regional Court found that the 48-year-old former billionaire concealed assets by transferring €300,000 ($348,000) to his mother.
Benko was acquitted of a separate charge involving a €360,000 rent pre-payment.
The verdict is not yet final.
The trial related to Benko’s personal insolvency and is one of 14 separate investigations by Austrian authorities, most involving allegations of serious fraud and breach of trust.
It marks the first in what could become a series of trials connected to Austria’s largest corporate collapse in recent history.
Benko’s real estate and retail empire, Signa, which comprised more than 1,130 companies, slid into insolvency in late 2023 after rising interest rates and internal mismanagement undermined its business model.
Creditors have filed claims worth several billion euros against Signa Holding and its subsidiaries.