One year after Cigna went bankrupt – this is how things started to unravel in the Pinko empire

The bankruptcy of Signa Sports United and the cessation of construction work on the half-finished Elbtower skyscraper in Hamburg on October 27, 2023 are the first dominoes to fall in the decline of the Signa real estate group. A year later, not much remains of the former empire of Tyrolean investor René Benko. Countless individual companies from the Signa network, including flagships Signa Prime and Signa Development, are in restructuring, bankruptcy or liquidation in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Legal proceedings are ongoing – including against Banco. In Austria alone, claims totaling €25 billion have been registered against Signa, Benko and their own foundation, but only a fraction of these have been recognised.

There is tangible interest from investors in individual projects or properties such as the Elliptower Tower. Buyers have already been found for other projects, including probably Vienna's most famous project, the Lamar project on Mariahilfer Straße: the Cigna Group planned to build an eight-storey luxury shopping temple with a green rooftop terrace and a hotel on the former headquarters of Liner. Furniture store.

The new owner, a company owned by investor George Stumpf, wants to develop the concept for the future use in coordination with the city and region in the coming months. Major changes, such as – which is possible in principle – the allocation of office space must be approved by the city council. There have been no requests for this yet, according to a spokesperson for Vienna City Building Councilor Catherine Gall (SPÖ). To simply continue construction, all you need is a notification of the construction site. However, the new operator will not be able to avoid work completely. It must be set up on the ground floor since the property is located in a business area. The roof terrace, which is open to the public, cannot be disturbed either. According to JAL's office, notice of project completion cannot be provided without this.

Not everyone was satisfied with the handling of the Second Republic's largest bankruptcy case: Chief Financial Prosecutor Wolfgang Peschoorn lacked the “necessary commitment” in searching for his assets, especially in the bankruptcy proceedings against Banco. On the criminal side, “very little has happened,” Peschoorn, who represents the Republic's interests in the proceedings, told the Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper: He was alluding to Finanzprokurator's request to appoint a special asset manager, which the court decided did not agree.

Andreas Grabenweger, the liquidator in Benko's own bankruptcy case, stressed that he and the law firm he now works with “belong to the enlarged team that is also in an ideal position with regard to Rene Benko's insolvency.” Bankruptcy proceedings were opened in the Innsbruck Regional Court in March 2024. Of the €2 billion of claims submitted, the court recognized €47 million. Grabenweger is trying to access parked assets in Ingbe's private foundation through a lawsuit. But that could take years.