Over the course of history, robberies have always been happening. However, not every one of them has been successful. In fact, developed nations have foiled more bank robberies that successful ones. In this piece, we will engage ourselves with the most successful and biggest bank robberies in history in order to know how they were able to execute their plans without anyone stopping them. Let’s get to business!
Robbery of United California Bank—$2.15 million carted away
Who would think Orange County, Calif., would host one of history’s slickest bank robberies? At the time of the robbery in 1972, Richard Nixon was president of the U.S. Supposedly, he stashed a sizeable campaign contribution from union leader Jimmy Hoffa at the United California Bank in Dana Point, then called Laguna Niguel. This is what lured career bank thief AmilDinsio to the spot. On March 24, 1972, burglars led by Dinsio broke into the safe deposit vault at United California Bank. After blowing a hole in the bank’s roof using dynamite, Dinsio and his gang entered the vault and emptied safety deposit boxes full of cash, jewels and negotiable securities. It was unclear how much was stolen, but news reports at the time said Dinsio and his gang made off with as much as $30 million in cash and safe deposit box valuables.
Dinsio and his companions escaped clean, but their success seems to have cost them. Dinsio’s gang orchestrated another heist very similar to that of United California back in his home state of Ohio. It wasn’t long before the FBI connected them and made arrests. In a later court hearing, a judge determined that $2.15 million had been stolen from the bank (DePietro, 2017).
Banco Central Burglary
This happened at Fortaleza, Brazil in 2005 and about $70 million was stolen. After renting a commercial property in the middle of the city and posing as landscapers, the gang behind this enormous heist spent three months digging a 256-foot tunnel to a position beneath the bank. Then, over a weekend in August, they tunneled up through reinforced concrete into the vault of the Banco Central branch and managed to remove 3.5 tons of Brazilian real notes, much of which has never been recovered (McGauley, 2015).
Robbery of Standard Chartered in 2016
Bank robberies are very uncommon in Singapore, with only five such crimes occurring in more than a decade. The most recent (and perhaps most peculiar) case was the one involving 26-year-old Canadian tourist David James Roach, who managed to rob a bank in Singapore with nothing but a piece of paper. Without any weapon whatsoever. Yes, I am very clear about the last phrase you just read.
On the morning of July 7, 2016, Roach casually strolled into the Holland Village branch of Standard Chartered Bank, handed the teller a note with his demands, and walked out of the bank, money in hand. Some reports said that Roach even subsequently visited a nearby cafe for a quick snack. But this particular thief did not get very far. After fleeing to Bangkok, Roach enjoyed only three days of freedom before he was swiftly arrested at the backpacker hostel he was residing in. However, Thailand has refused to extradite the Canadian to Singapore, leaving room for more twists in this tale (Movie Sugar, 2016).
300 Million Yen Robbery In 1968—Japan
A group of Nihon ShintakuGinko bank employees are transporting almost 300 million yen (equivalent to about US$3.6 million today) to a factory on a rainy December morning. The money is neatly packed in metal boxes, and locked up in the trunk of a company car. They are a mere 200m away from the factory when a police motorcycle screeches to a halt in front of their car. The policeman screams that that dynamite had been planted on their car, and that the vehicle is about to explode. He tells them that their branch manager’s house had just been blown up as well.
Smoke and flames appear under the car. Terrified, the employees flee the vehicle. Unfortunately for these bank employees (and the factory employees for whom the money was intended for as bonuses), it’s too late – the ‘policeman’ calmly enters the vehicle, speeds off, and is never seen again. The suspect was never apprehended. It’s been almost half a century, and the unsolved case still continues to fascinate Japan as one of the country’s most incredulous heists (Movie Sugar, 2016).
Robbery of Northern Bank, Belfast, UK
This 2004 robbery of the Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK is remarkable for being 100% unsolved despite the complexity of the plot and the value of the haul. A group of armed robbers took the families of a pair of bank managers hostage and then coached the men to go to work the next day, acting normally for an entire work day. The managers then let the robbers into the bank after hours, and the thieves gathered up assets worth more than $41 million USD. They then disappeared (leaving the families unhurt) and were never tracked down (John, 2017).
Dar Es Salaam Bank Robbery
One of the largest bank robberies of all time was committed without the use of force, without any injuries, and without any real chance of catching the perpetrators or recovering the missing cash. In 2007, the Dar Es Salaam bank of Baghdad, Iraq (not of Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania — confusing, right) was casually robbed by the guards who were supposed to be guarding it at night. The men instead removed more than $280,000,000 worth of cash and assets and walked away, leaving the vaults and doors wide open (John, 2017).
The Great Train Robbery—UK
This finely orchestrated operation to intercept a Royal Mail train full of high-value packages (en route from Glasgow) was devised over the course of several months. A gang of 15 robbers hatched and executed the now-legendary plan, which involved rigging the trackside signals to stop the train in a remote location, where the conductor was overpowered and the loot was stolen. Unsurprisingly, it’s served as the inspiration for a whole crop of films and books since. $4.1 million was carted away in the heist (McGauley, 2015).
References
DePietro, A (2017). The 10 Most Successful Bank Robberies Of All Time. Retrieved from https://www.gobankingrates.com/banking/banks/5-strangest-modern-bank-robberies/#3
McGauley, J (2015). The 10 Most Successful Bank Robberies In History. Retrieved from https://www.thrillist.com/culture/most-successful-bank-robberies-of-all-time-biggest-heists-in-history
Movie Sugar 2016.5 of Asia’s Most Fascinating Bank Heists. Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/5-of-asias-most-fascinating-bank-heists-033139251.html