A Massive Bank Robbery for Millions of Euros Occurred in Germany, and Nobody Noticed

On a quiet weekend immediately after Christmas, a group of thieves broke into a bank on the main street of the western city of Gelsenkirchen, drilling through a wall with an industrial drill. They broke into more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes and disappeared with millions of euros, reports BBC.

A month later, the police still have not made a single arrest. For the bank's customers, some of whom say they lost their life savings, valuable family jewelry, and property, it is a time of anger, confusion, and shock. There is a strong feeling that trust in institutions has been shaken.

This case has raised many complex questions, some of which were voiced by Herbert Reul, the Minister of Interior of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Why did no one notice what was happening? Was it an "inside job"? Why did no one hear the drill, and how did the thieves know exactly where the vault was? Were the bank's security systems too weak?

Investigators believe that the thieves likely gained access to the Sparkasse savings bank on Nienhofstraße through an adjacent multi-story car park in the Buer district.

The thieves may have damaged a back door between the car park and the bank.

Under normal circumstances, the door could not be opened from the outside, but the gang managed to ensure it no longer closed properly, allowing them "unhindered access from the car park into the Sparkasse building."

From there, police believe, they bypassed several security systems and made their way into an archive room next to the vault in the bank's basement. They set up a drilling machine and drilled a 40 cm wide hole in the wall, leading to the safe room where the deposit boxes were stored.

Павялічыць

According to officials, the robbery likely occurred between Saturday, December 27, and Monday, December 29.

They believe the burglars might have been caught shortly before reaching the vault.

Immediately after 06:00 on December 27, the Gelsenkirchen fire department and a private security firm received an alert about a fire alarm from the bank, which could have been triggered by the thieves. Police and 20 firefighters arrived at the bank at 06:15, "but could not find anything indicating damage," according to a police statement.

The fire alarm originated precisely from the vault, Herbert Reul reported. But firefighters could not enter because it was closed by roller shutters. Reul said they saw "no smoke, no smell of burning, no damage," so they "attributed it to a false alarm," which, according to him, was not unusual.

The police did not have the right to inspect the bank at that time, as it was a matter for the fire department. They would have needed a warrant.

Once inside the vault, the thieves opened almost all 3,250 safe deposit boxes, taking cash, gold, and jewelry.

Павялічыць

Reul reported that the bank's computer systems show: the first box was broken into at 10:45 on December 27, and the last at 14:44. It is still unclear whether they managed to open most of the boxes in four hours, or if the technology simply stopped recording data.

Later, witnesses told police they saw several men on the car park stairwell with large bags on the night of December 28.

Authorities say they do not know exactly how much was stolen, but German media estimate that the thieves could have escaped with up to 100 million euros.

Police later released photos and video footage from the car park cameras, showing men with covered faces and two cars: a black Audi RS 6 and a white Mercedes Citan. Both had fake license plates.

The theft was only discovered on December 29, when another fire alarm sounded at 3:58 on Monday, and firefighters, returning to the bank, found chaos.

Павялічыць

Herbert Reul said it looked like a "dumpster," with more than 500,000 items scattered across the floor – the contents of the safe deposit boxes that the thieves left behind.

Police reported that many items were damaged after the thieves doused them with water and chemicals. Since then, they have been carefully sorting through the remnants, trying to determine what belongs to whom.

When details of the robbery became known, about 200 customers gathered near Sparkasse, demanding to be let inside. Police arrived in several patrol cars and cordoned off the entrance.

63-year-old Joachim Alfred Wagner said he lost not only gold worth tens of thousands of euros but also jewelry that belonged to his father, grandparents. He rented a box after several break-ins at his apartment, thinking his valuables would be safe there. "I cried with fury," he said.

The bank stated that the contents of the boxes are usually insured for 10,300 euros each. Wagner is one of the first to file a lawsuit against the bank, demanding compensation for what his lawyer Daniel Kuhlmann called "weak security."

Another customer deposited 400,000 euros in cash from the sale of an apartment, intended for his retirement.

The bank stated that it itself was a victim of the crime and that its premises were "secured in accordance with recognized modern technologies." While some customers had official receipts for the contents of their boxes, others did not.

"Even Sparkasse doesn't know what's in [the boxes], because everyone can put whatever they want in there," said Herbert Reul. He emphasized that the psychological damage should not be underestimated.

"We need to help the victims," he said. "For many, this is more than just the loss of property; it can also affect their trust in their own sense of security and... their trust in our order."

Police chief Tim Frommeyer stated that they are dealing with "one of the largest criminal cases in the history of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia": "My department and all its employees are aware of the scale of this case. The financial damage, uncertainty, and disappointment are very profound!"

Shortly after the theft was discovered, the German far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) held a rally near the bank.

German magazine Der Spiegel wrote that the robbery became a political issue and a symbol of something greater than the crime itself: "The feeling that promises of security are empty, that institutions are failing, and that ultimately no one is responsible."

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