Rob a bank fawn Bonnie and Clyde? It’s possible. Still do not get caught by the police. And that’s another story. Despite the risks, many have tried their luck. Few have succeeded. But these robbers marked the spirits forever. Here are 5 Hollywood-worthy stories.
With 79 attacks recorded in 2018 against 1,474 in 1996, i.e. a reduction of 95%, the number of armed robberies targeting financial establishments has been in free fall for the past ten years, according to the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime. In question, the implementation of reinforced security measures in the bank branches: video surveillance, electronic locks, secure entry, anti-intrusion alarms, security pads on the roadway But also the rise in the power of payment by bank card which has led to reduce the amount of cash kept in network bank branches and incited thieves to prefer local shops. Yet the myth of the Oceans Eleven heist is still fascinating today. And for good reason, some have made history. Here are 5 heists of the century that have become legendary.
1. When a dictator’s son robs a central bank
The greatest robber of all time doesn’t look exactly like the gentleman robbers that populate the big and small. And yet, with a booty that exceeds a billion dollars, he easily imposes the head of this palm tree.
In 2003, when his country was about to be attacked by the United States, dictator Saddam Hussein sent his son to the Central Bank of Iraq. Its mission is simple: withdraw as much money as possible. In the space of 5 hours, Qoussa Hussein scoops 1 billion US dollars in small denominations. American troops will find $ 650million in the dictator’s palace. But 350million is still in the wild.
2. Months in taste to get hold of hundreds of safes
July 1976. Coming back from the weekend, the employees of the Socit Gnrale de Nice were amazed to see that the door to the vault room had been welded from the inside. On the other side, the police discovered a breathtaking scene: 370 private chests lay on the ground, forcibly opened and emptied of their contents.
At the back of the room, a gaping hole. For three months, the thugs dug an 8-meter tunnel to connect the vault room to the tastes. And on the walls, a phrase written in chalk that will remain famous: Neither gunshot, nor violence, nor hatred. Amount of the jackpot: 46million francs that will never be found.
Most of the 16 thieves will eventually be arrested. Including Albert Spaggiari, the alleged brain of the case. This former soldier who would have started his larcenies during his mobilization in Indochina, managed to escape prison in 1977. He spent his life on the run before dying of cancer in 1989, leaving behind him a book, Les tastes du paradis, which gave rise to 3 adaptations to the cinema.
Read also: Banks can destroy certain contents of safes
3. Low cost robber for maxi loot
A sharp knife and good timing: That’s all it took for this thrifty robber to pull off one of the most profitable heists in history. In 1990, John Goddard worked as a courier for a brokerage firm called Sheppard. Imagine his surprise when an individual armed with a knife ambushed him in a London alley.
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The scene only lasts a few seconds, at the end of which the crook fled with his pocket 292million pounds in treasury bills. Simple but effective. The perpetrator of the theft will never be found. But his alleged accomplice, Keith Cheeseman, will end up with 6 years in prison after trying to clear good thefts.
4. Has a footprint near the jackpot
In 1986, Valerio Viccei arrived in London after having fled his native Italy, where he was wanted for around fifty armed robberies. But old habits die hard. A year after his arrival in the United Kingdom, Valerio Viccei and his sidekick break into the warehouse in Knightsbridge, a commercial district in London. The two men ask to rent a safe. Once in the vault room, they take out their well-hidden weapons and quickly master the security guards.
The thugs then bring in several accomplices beforehang a sign announcing the temporary closure of the deposit center. The crime is discovered an hour later, when the changing of the guards arrives. Amount of the loot: about 60million pounds. However, the forensic police found a fingerprint that led to the arrest of Valerio Viccei. Extradited to Italy, he served 22 years in prison and was shot in 2000. Blessed bread for Hollywood screenwriters.
5. A hundred banks looted from a sofa
If the old hold-ups are less frequent these days, it is difficult to say the same for cybercrimes. Between 2013 and 2015, a group of hackers by the name of Carbanak notably hit the headlines by hacking the ATMs of a hundred banks all over the world.
Cybercriminals had successfully reprogrammed vending machines to automatically trigger a specific schedule. An accomplice then had only to show up at the appointed time and collect the cash. The operation was repeated in more than 30 countries, including France, for a total loot estimated at 1 billion dollars.
Read also: The cybersecurity of French banks trills
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