What: Germany’s biggest department store, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, is filing for bankruptcy protection again to save the mid-market chain.

Why it is important: For the second time in two years, René Benko, owner of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof and co-owner of Selfridges, is filing for bankruptcy protection having already taken two bailouts from the German government worth 680 million euros.

Berlin politicians are reluctant to provide a third bailout without participation from Benko and his Signa Group.

The mid-market chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof first filed for creditor protection in April 2020 when the pandemic forced store closures. This time around, close to a third of jobs will be slashed as part of a planned restructuring due to overly complicated bailout terms.

Benko is facing more than scrutiny caused by the Galeria restructuring. The Signa headquarters was raided by the Austrian police in October as part of an anti-corruption investigation surrounding Benko’s political connections in Vienna and the overall financial operations of his business empire. Past criticism has insinuated that Benko’s acquisition of Galeria has been fueled by the underlying high-value real estate as it contrasts the rest of his portfolio of exclusive, luxury developments./nbsp]

For the moment, Benko has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof files for bankruptcy protection again