Austrian police have raided the home of former Selfridges co-owner Rene Benko as part of a fraud inquiry into the collapse of his property empire.
As part of the investigation, investigators seized a range of assets from Mr Benko’s mansion in Innsbruck, including a Porsche sportscar.
It comes as Mr Benko faces allegations of embezzlement, fraud and fraudulent bankruptcy.
The claims emerged following the collapse of Signa last year, which filed for the largest bankruptcy in the country’s history.
Plunging property prices and high interest rates put the squeeze on Signa’s highly indebted property portfolio, prompting a debt crunch and subsequent collapse of the company.
As well as owning assets across Europe, Signa was the co-owner of London’s landmark Selfridges department store up until late last year.
The group also owned the Chrysler building in New York and swathes of property in Ireland. At one time, the group’s property portfolio was worth up to €30bn (£25bn) – making it one of the biggest landlords in the world.
Austrian anti-corruption officers are probing Mr Benko’s affairs and whether he disguised the true scale of his wealth from authorities.