German Bank Theft: Robbers Open a Vault and Take Up to $105 Million from Deposit Boxes
An estimated $105 million was taken from clients’ deposit boxes when thieves broke into a German bank vault over Christmas.
According to police on Tuesday, thieves stole approximately $105 million worth of cash and valuables from clients’ deposit boxes after drilling their way into a German retail bank’s vault during the calm Christmas season.
At a Sparkasse bank branch in the western city of Gelsenkirchen, the criminals drilled through a high concrete wall before breaking into thousands of safe deposit boxes and taking an estimated double-digit million euros in cash, according to a statement from the police.
Police didn’t find the hole until the early hours of Monday, December 29 after a fire alarm went off. In Germany, the majority of stores and banks close for the Christmas season beginning on the evening of December 24.
On Tuesday, dozens of irate clients gathered in front of the bank, yelling, “Let us in!” according to Reuters.
“I had trouble sleeping last night. As he waited outside the store, one guy told the Welt broadcaster, “We’re getting no information,” adding that he had been using the safe for 25 years and that it held his assets for retirement.
Another man claimed to have kept money and jewelry for his family in his deposit box. A request for comment from a representative of the Gelsenkirchen-based Sparkasse bank was not immediately answered.
According to police, on Saturday night, a number of guys were seen lugging heavy luggage in the stairway of a nearby parking garage.
Additionally, a black Audi RS 6 was reported to have masked men inside it as it left the garage early on Monday morning. The license plate belonged to a car that was taken in Hanover, which is more than 200 kilometers northeast of Gelsenkirchen, according to the police.
Separately, according to the AP, which cited the Sparkasse bank and police, the heist in Gelsenkirchen impacted some 2,700 bank customers.
According to police spokesperson Thomas Nowaczyk, investigators estimate the theft’s value to be between 10 and 90 million euros ($11.7 and 105.7 million). The crime may be among Germany’s biggest thefts, according to the German news agency dpa.
200 or so people showed up asking to enter the bank on Tuesday, but it was still closed, according to the DPA.
Police and firefighters were called to the bank branch just before 4 a.m. on Monday after a fire alarm. They plundered the vault and discovered a hole in the wall. Police suspect that the basement wall of the vault was breached using a big drill.
Investigators were informed by witnesses that over the weekend, they observed multiple guys carrying heavy goods in a nearby parking garage. Early on Monday morning, police claimed, masked individuals were seen inside a stolen car captured on video from the garage.
The distance between Gelsenkirchen and Frankfurt is roughly 192 kilometers (119 miles).
