Reichsbank Robbery

Admin | December 11, 2011 | Comments Off

This post is about the great robberies that are remained famous in history. These are the bank Robberies. The interesting thing is that there is involvement of entice hackers, gunmen and even politicians who attempted the bank robberies. These bank robberies are planned so brilliant and fantastic ways that made the every body shocked. But the robbers were also arrested and most money has recovered from them. Many bank robberies are committed I have made a list of 10 most greatest bank robberies in the world. You guys really amazed while reading about them.

1. The Great Train Robbery Glasgow 1963

Rob Money: £2.6 Million

Armed robbers, including Ronnie Biggs, stole £2.6m from the Glasgow-London Royal Mail train. The robbers stopped the train by turning off a green track signal and turning on a red one. The gang members were caught and sentenced to jail terms of up to 30 years. Biggs later escaped from Wands worth prison and fled to Brazil. He returned to Britain in 2001 to serve the remainder of his sentence.

2. The Reichsbank Robbery in Berlin 1984

Rob Money: £2.5 Billion

This one is a bit subjective, as the ‘robbery’ of the Reichsbank holds the Guinness World Record for the largest robbery in history, of over $3 billion. The bank was looted as Germany collapsed at the end of the Second World War. The amount of gold taken from Germany’s Reichsbank then was estimated at £2.5bn at 1984 prices.

3. City of London Robbery in 1990

Rob Money: £292 Million

A financial messenger was robbed of £292m worth of bonds at knife point in a quiet City of London side street. The messenger was taking Bank of England Treasury bills and certificates of deposit from banks and building societies. The bonds were in bearer form and as good as cash to anyone holding them. Police believed the mugging was carried out by Patrick Thomas, a small-time crook from south London, who was found shot dead before being charged. The police recovered all but two of the 301 bonds thanks to an informant.

4. Dunbar Armored Car Depot in USA 1997

Rob Money: $18.9 Million

This is known to be the largest cash robbery happened in the entire history of the United States that led to the arrest of the mastermind of this robbery known as Allen Pace. The same suspicions of law enforcers who handled the Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery that everything was planned that someone in the bank coordinated the whole plan. In fact, it was a very modern approach ever recorded that cannot be regarded as unique because of the same motive in stealing, which took away $18.9 Million dollars.

5. The Iraq Central Bank Robbery in 2003

Rob Money: $1 Billion

Just before the United States declared war on Iraq, initiating the second Gulf War, Saddam Hussein pulled off the biggest bank heist in history, by having his son steal $1 billion from the Iraqi central Bank. The BBC headline read as follows: “Saddam Hussein ordered his son to take about $1bn in cash from the Iraqi Central Bank just hours before the first bombs fell on Baghdad, the United States has said.”

6. Northern Bank Robbery in Belfast 2004

Rob Money: £26.4Million

A gang stole £26.4m from the headquarters of the Northern Bank in Belfast the largest amount of cash ever taken in a robbery in the UK. The bank had to withdraw its notes and replace them with new ones with different logos and colors. Most of the stolen cash has yet to be recovered.

7. Kent Securitas Depot Robbery in UK 2006

Rob Money: $92.5 Million

The Kent Securities robbery was the largest cash robbery in UK history, which took place when the manager of the depot was abducted. When he pulled over for an unmarked police vehicle with blue flashing lights, a man approached the vehicle and made the manager enter the police car. He was then handcuffed by other gang members in the car. The robbers then proceeded to hold the manager’s wife and son hostage, as the gang members then proceeded to rob the depot for the equivalent of $92.5 Million.

8. Baghdad Bank Robbery in Iraq 2007

Rob Money: $282 Million

Employees of the Dar Es Salaam bank showed up to work one morning to find that the doors were unlocked, the vault open, and all the money was gone. It is believed that 3 guards at the bank made off with a staggering $282 Million in this whopping haul. It is unclear why the bank had such a large amount of cash on hand, but it was all in US currency. It is suspected that the guards had the assistance of militias to avoid detection at security checkpoints around Baghdad, as having a $282 Million in the boot of your car might raise suspicions. No one has been brought to justice for this brazen crime and none of the money has been recovered.

9. Harry Winston Robbery in France 2008

Rob Money: $108 Million

Four armed men entered the up market jewelry store shortly before closing time, 3 of whom were dressed in wigs and women’s clothing. After cleaning out the display cases, they forced staff to loot the storage area, as the Millions worth of jewels in the display cases just weren’t enough for these guys. They cleaned the place out, without firing a shot. Harry Winston stock fell 9% the next day after word of the robbery got out. The store had been robbed the previous year, where thieves netted 10 Million euros worth of jewels.

10. Bank of Ireland Robbery in 2009

Rob Money: $9 Million

This is the biggest robbery that happened in the history of Ireland, which took place in these modern times. In fact, bank employees were taken as hostages prior to the violent intrusion inside the bank. Most of the people that surrounded the city made statements that the robbers were known as The Seven Mobsters within northern Dublin. All these happened in the span of 15 minutes where they took away $9 Million USD.

Source: BBC
4. Knightsbridge Security Deposit Robbery of $98 Million, 1987

Arguably the third largest heist in history, a robbery masterminded by Valerio Viccei made off with $98 million in 1987, the equivalent of almost $200 million in modern currency rates. After deciding the heat was too hot in Italy, where he was wanted for 50 armed robberies, Valerio took his Baretta to England to pull of this massive heist. Requesting to rent a safe deposit box, the bank manager took them down into the vault, the robbers subdued the manager and security guards as they proceeded to steal all the money.

Unfortunately for Viccei, a bloody fingerprint from the crime scene was traced back to him, and surveillance of him resulted in the arrest of Viccei and his accomplices.

Source: Wikipedia
5. The Reichsbank Robbery in Berlin

This one is a bit subjective, as the ‘robbery’ of the Reichsbank holds the Guinness World Record for the largest robbery in history, of over $3 billion. The bank was looted as Germany collapsed at the end of the Second World War. The amount of gold taken from Germany’s Reichsbank then was estimated at £2.5bn at 1984 prices.

However, many scholars have pointed out the difficulty in classifying this robbery, as a majority of the stolen money was in foreign bonds, and thus it was based largely on testimony as to the amounts in the bank. Nevertheless, this robbery goes down as one of the craziest in history.
6. Banco Central burglary at Fortaleza, 2005

In this daring robbery that seems straight out of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, burglars tunneled into the Banco Central in Fortaleza, Brazil, to steal $164 million Brazilian reals (the current equivalent of $94 million USD). By purchasing and renovating a house, and doing some gardening work, they were able to disguise their nearly 100 meter tunnel that took nearly 3 months to create.

They were able to make off with the money and authorities have only managed to recover $9 million, with the rest unaccounted for. Many suspects have been arrested in connection with this robbery, and the alleged mastermind was murdered in 2005. According to reports, 18 perpetrators are still at large.

Source: Times Online
7. The Great Train Robbery of 1963

The Great Train Robbery of 1963 was a robbery of a modern equivalent to $74 million that was carried out by a gang of 15 robbers, led by Bruce Reynolds. By sabotaging the signaling equipment for the railway, the robbers convinced the train to make an unexpected stop, before boarding the train and removing 124 sacks of money and valuables. Ordinarily, this level of money would not have been present, but thanks to a bank holiday in Scotland, the total amount was £2.6 million. Most of the money has not been recovered.

Source: BBC
8. Northern Bank Robbery of 2004

The Northern Bank robbery of 2004 was a cash robbery of the Northern Bank in Ireland. A large group of robbers seized £26.5 million in pounds sterling. The UK governments and Ireland police all claimed the robbery was perpetrated by the IRA, although this is denied by the IRA and their leadership. What is known is that, by holding the families of bank officers as hostages, the robbers were able to masquerade as bank officials and make off with the money. As of 2009, the case was still being prosecuted and new conspirators were being charged, as financial adviser Ted Cunningham was charged with laundering money that had stemmed from the robbery.

Source: Wikipedia

9. Brinks Mat Warehouse Robbery of 1983

The Brink’s-MAT robbery took place on November 26, 1983, when 6 robbers broke into the Brink’s-MAT warehouse. Thinking they were going to steal a measly £3 million in cash, the robbers were rather surprised to find 3 tons of gold bullion, worth £26 million. A lucky break for the robbers, they were able to make away with the money, however, the mastermind was caught after the security guard Anthony Black, who helped the robbers gain entrance, confessed to the crime and turned the mastermind, Robinson, in, along with gang leader Michael McAvoy. The other four robbers remain at large, and a majority of the gold has never been recovered.

Source: BBC
10. Dunbar Armored Car Robbery of 1987

The Dunbar Armored Car robbery was a robbery perpetrated by Allen Pace, who ganged up with 5 childhood friends to steal $18.9 million in 1997. Going uncaptured for several years, finally one of the accomplices made a fatal mistake, and was arrested, and promptly ratted out his accomplices. While on the job, Pace examined the Dunbar Los Angeles armored car depot, making sure to time the security cameras. Using his keys to enter the facility, the gang then waited in the cafeteria, ambushing each guard. The gang proceeded to rush the vault, loading millions into a nearby u-haul truck. The gang made away with the money and laundered it through legitimate businesses. Unfortunately, Eugene Hill, one of the members, gave an associate a stack of money with the original cash straps. This was quickly traced back to him. The gang was then arrested, although only $9 million was ever recovered.

Source: St. Augustine