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Largest Bank Robberies |
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Below is a list of the Largest and Most Famous Bank Robberies compared in US Dollars. |
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Central Bank of Iraq (2003), US $1 billion i.e. $1,000 million. Starting on the 18th March 2003, the day before the US began bombing Baghdad, Saddam Hussein & his two Sons took around US $1 billion from the Central Bank of Iraq. This is said to be the largest Bank Heist in history. About $650 million was found in walls of Saddam Hussein's Palace by US Troops. The remaining $350 million is unlikely ever to be unaccounted for. Some sources claim US Troops may have taken some of the money. |
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Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Burglary / England (2015), US $300 million. The Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company is an underground Safe Deposit facility in London. It was burgled in April 2015 with claims anything from £14 million to £200 million of Diamonds, Gold and Cash was taken. Some people never reported their valuables were stolen, as they may have been Illegal Investments. A number of Elderly Men plead guilty to the Robbery in 2016, leading to them receiving prison sentences up to 7 years. The men were Brian Reader 77, John "Kenny" Collins 75, Daniel Jones 61, Terry Perkins 67, Carl Wood 59, and William Lincoln 60, all with a long history of Robberies. The gang had drilled large holes through a 2 feet thick concrete wall to get in. One of the gang has never been caught. He is known as Basil because of his long red hair as seen in the CCTV images. A £20,000 reward is on offer for his capture. About £4 Million of Diamonds and Cash was recovered by Police, some hidden in a Graveyard. |
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Knightsbridge Security Deposit / England (1987), US $111 million. The Knightsbridge Security Deposit Robbery took place on the 12th July 1987 in Knightsbridge, England. Two men entered the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre enquiring about renting a Safe Deposit Box. After being shown the Vault, they used Hand Guns to capture the Manager and Security Guards. The men then put a sign on the entrance stating the business was closed, then allowed the rest of the gang to enter so they could force open the Security Boxes. Police Forensic Investigators found a fingerprint of a well known criminal, the Italian, Valerio Viccei, known for his extravagant lifestyle. After surveillance, Viccei and his accomplices were arrested on the 12th August 1987, and convicted of the robbery. On the 19th April 2000, during a day release from Prison, the Police shot Viccei dead during a gunfight with Viccei and his friend. Little of the Money or Jewels were recovered. |
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Kent Securitas Depot / England(2006), £53 million or US $92.5 million. The Securitas Depot Robbery took place on the 22nd February 2006, between 01:00 and 02:15. This was the largest amount of Cash ever Stolen in Britian. About six men from England and North African, captured and threatened the family of the Manager, then tied up fourteen of the depots workers. After arrests on the 29th Januar 2008, Stuart Royle, Lea Rusha, Jetmir Bucpapa, and Roger Coutts, were given Life Sentences with an order to serve a minimum of 15 years. Emir Hysenaj was sentenced to 20 years. Kayenide 'Kane' Patterson is said to have been one of the top men involved in the crime. He evaded capture, now said to be living in the West Indies, with much of the stolen cash. Police claim to have recovered around £11 million. |
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The Great Train Robbery was a £2.3 million Train Robbery on the 8th of August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, in Buckinghamshire, England. The Royal Mail's Glasgow to London train was stopped after the Gang altered signals. The Gang of 15 was led by Bruce Reynolds, with well known criminals such as Ronnie Biggs, Charlie Wilson, Jimmy Hussey, John Wheater, Brian Field, Jimmy White, Tommy Wisbey, Gordon Goody and Buster Edwards. They made off with a haul of £2.3 million in used £1, £5 and £10 notes. The haul was the equivalent to £40 million or US $74 million in 2006. Thirteen of the Gang were arrested after Police found fingerprints at Leatherslade Farm in Buckinghamshire, where they had been hiding for 2 days after the robbery. All 13 were Imprisoned, Reynolds and Edwards were the only two that evaded capture. Ronnie Biggs escaped from Prison after 15 months, moving to Melbourne in Australia, then Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 1970. Charlie Wilson also escaped and moved to Rigaud Mountain, outside Montreal in Canada. After his wife phoned his parents in England, the Police tracked him down in 1968. Bruce Reynolds was captured in 1968, released from Prison in 1978, died in March 2013. Buster Edwards handed himself in to Police in 1966 after running out of money while living in Mexico. He was released from Prison in 1975, died in London in 1994. Charlie Wilson was released from Prison in 1978, died in Spain in 1990 after being Shot by a Hit-Man. Ronnie Biggs gave himself up in 2001 after 36 years on the run. Biggs was released from Belmarsh Prison London in 2009, died in London in December 2013, aged 84. About £400,000 was all that was recovered by Police. |
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On the 6th of August and 7th August 2005, on a weekend, a Gang dug a Tunnel into the Banco Central in Fortaleza City, northeast Brazil. They made off with five containers of notes, estimated at 164,755,150 reais or US $69.8 million, £38.6 million. Five men were arrested on the 28th September with about $5.4 million of the Money. These men informed the Police they had helped dig the Tunnel. On the 20th of October, the Body of Luis Fernando Ribeiro, aged 26, was found on a quiet road near Camanducaia, 200 miles west of Rio de Janeiro. He had been Shot seven times, with Police believing he was the Mastermind behind the Robbery. Police have claimed to have recovered about $7 million, $63 million may never be recovered. |
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The Northern Bank Robbery took place on the 20th December 2004. The Gang took £26.5 million, one of the largest Bank Robberies in British history. Armed masked men took Northern Bank executives and their families hostage, then forced the executives to help carry out the Robbery by threatening to shoot their families. The British and Irish Governments, claimed the Provisional IRA was responsible, a claim the Provisional IRA, and the Sinn Fein political party, denied. A number of people throughout Northern and Southern Ireland, many with links to the IRA, were arrested after being caught with some of the cash. About £2 Million has been recovered. None of the actual Robbers have been caught, and seems there are no actual suspects. |
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Brinks Mat Warehouse / England (1983), US $45 million. The Brinks Mat Robbery was carried out on the 26th November 1983, after six men broke into the Brinks Mat Warehouse at Heathrow Airport, London, England. The Robbers beleived there was £3 million in Cash, but found ten tonnes of Gold Bullion, worth around £26 million. The Gang entered the Warehouse with the help of a Security Guard named Anthony Black, brother-in-law of the mastermind of the robbery, Brian Robinson. The Gang were caught after Police interrogated the Security Guard, and gained a full confession to all involved. The men were tried at the Old Bailey in London, where Robinson and the gang leader Michael McAvoy, were sentenced to 25 years each for Armed Robbery. The Security Guard was sentenced to six years. In 1986, Kenneth Noye, the businessman used to recast and sell the Gold, was found guilty of conspiracy to handle the Gold, fined £700,000, and sentenced to 14 years in Prison. Little of the Gold was recovered. People involved in the raid, claim anyone wearing Gold Jewellery bought in the UK after 1983, are probably wearing Brinks Mat. |
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Dunbar Armored / USA (1997), US $18.9 million. The Dunbar Armored Robbery is the largest Cash Robbery in the United States, carried out on the 13th September 1997, at the Dunbar Armored Facility in Los Angeles, California. The Robbery was planned by Allen Pace, a regional safety inspector for Dunbar. He was helped by Five Friends, and used his Keys to enter the Warehouse. The Police soon realized it was an inside job, but investigations into Pace failed to incover any evidence. The breakthrough came after one of the gang, Eugene Lamar Hill, payed someone a large amount of cash, still with the original cash straps on it. That person contacted the Police and Hill was arrested. Hill soon named his associates, with Allen Pace being convicted and sentenced to 24 years in Jail. Only some of the Money was recovered, it is beleived around $10 million is still missing. |
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Lufthansa / New York / USA (1978), US $5.8. The Lufthansa Heist was planned by the well known criminal Jimmy Burke, an associate of the Lucchese crime family. About $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewels were taken. The Robbery came about after a Bookmaker, Martin Krugman, told a friend of of Jimmy Burke, there was millions of dollars in untraceable money flown in once a month to Kennedy Airport in New York. This money was exchanged by Servicemen and Tourists in West Germany, then returned to the US. On the 11th December 1978, at 3.12 a.m. the Gang captured two Security Guards and a number of Workers, forcing them to help with the Robbery. There were a series of Gangland Murders in the following years, over the stolen money, and trying to silence potential witnesses. Although Burke was suspected of being involved in over 50 murders, he was only convicted of murdering a hustler named Richard Eaton in 1985. Burke died in Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York, on the 13th April 1996, aged 64, due to lung cancer. Little of the money has been recovered. |
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For a substantial list of World Wide Robberies,
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