(ANSA-AFP) - VIENNA, OCT 15 - An Austrian court on Wednesday sentenced fallen property tycoon Rene Benko to two years in prison for insolvency fraud, the first conviction in a wide-ranging investigation into the collapse of his real-estate empire. Benko, once one of Austria's richest men, founded Signa Holding in 2000, but the debt-laden group crumbled in 2023 in the largest insolvency proceedings in the country's history. Creditors, including in the United Arab Emirates and Thailand, are reportedly claiming billions of euros from Signa, whose vast portfolio used to include New York's Chrysler Building and several prestigious department store chains in Europe. Benko, 48, was accused of concealing assets amounting to some 660,000 euros (about $770,000) at the expense of creditors in the course of the insolvency. At the two-day trial in the city of Innsbruck, Benko was found guilty of one count of insolvency fraud for gifting 300,000 euros (about $350,000) to his mother in late 2023. The court sentenced him to two years in prison. It acquitted him on the second count, an alleged advance payment of about 360,000 euros for the rent and operating expenses of a villa that prosecutors deemed "economically unjustifiable". The conviction can still be appealed. Benko, 48, has been in custody since being arrested at his villa in Innsbruck in January. He has denied all accusations of wrongdoing. (ANSA-AFP).