Austria Says It Can’t Enforce Benko’s Italian Arrest Warrant (1)

Insolvent tycoon Rene Benko remains free to defend himself against multiple international criminal investigations after Austrian authorities said they couldn’t comply with an Italian arrest warrant.

Austrian officials had questioned the founder of the Signa retail and property conglomerate, and released him under investigation, a spokesman for the Innsbruck prosecutors said by email. With several parallel investigations, Austrian authorities cannot comply with a European arrest warrant, he said, adding that Benko wasn’t required to post bail.

The statement came in response to reports that Italian prosecutors had sought to detain Benko as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation. Benko has ...