5.Knightsbridge Security Deposit
12th July
1987-UK: £60 million
Valerio Viccei migrated to the UK from Italy in 1986, where he was
wanted for over 50 armed robberies. He decided to continue his successful trade
in his new homeland, where he and an accomplice entered the Knightsbridge Safe
Deposit Centre and asked to rent a Safe Deposit Box. After being led into the
vault, they subdued the manager and the guards. Valerio hung a sign outside
stating that the Deposit was temporarily closed to deter more customers, and
then went about letting in more accomplices. The gang then plundered the safe
deposit boxes at will and netted an estimated £60 million, which translates
approximately into a whopping $174 million in today’s money. The police were
not alerted until an hour after the robbery, giving the team plenty of time to
flee the scene. Valerio fled to Latin America whilst his accomplices were
arrested, then foolishly returned to England sometime later to retrieve his
beloved Ferrari, where he was subsequently caught. He was sentenced to 22 years
in prison. One would think that with the better part of $174 million, you would
just buy another Ferrari. Or two. He was killed in 2000 while on day release in
Italy, as a result of a gunfight with police.
Baghdad
Bank Robbery
12th July
2007- Baghdad, Iraq: $282 million
Employees of the Dar Es Salaam bank showed up to work one morning to
find that the doors were unlocked, the vault open, and all the money was gone.
It is believed that 3 guards at the bank made off with a staggering $282
million in this whopping haul. Yes, more than a quarter of a billion dollars!
That’s more money than the entire economies of some small countries. It is
unclear why the bank had such a large amount of cash on hand, but it was all in
US currency. It is suspected that the guards had the assistance of militias, to
avoid detection at security checkpoints around Baghdad, as having a lazy $282
million in the boot of your car might raise suspicions. No one has been brought
to justice for this brazen crime and none of the money has been recovered. The
robbery received surprisingly little media coverage.
Boston
Museum
18th March
1990- Boston, USA: $300 million
Number 3 on our list is also considered the biggest art heist in
history. Two men dressed as police officers convinced 2 inexperienced security
guards at the Gardner Museum that they were responding to a disturbance.
Contrary to museum policy, the 2 guards let the “officers” into the premises,
where they quickly learned that they had been duped after being handcuffed by
the men in the basement. Amazingly, the 2 men managed to do this despite having
no visible weapons whatsoever. The men spent the next 81 minutes calmly
selecting 12 pieces of art with a combined value of over $300 million, and this
was 20 years ago. Among the paintings stolen were 3 Rembrandt’s and a Vermeer.
The two then took the surveillance tapes and departed, never to be heard from
again, though in 1994 an offer was made to return the paintings for $2.6
million and immunity from prosecution, but the writer was never heard from
again. The men appear to possibly be amateurs, as they made no effort to avoid
damaging the paintings and left even more valuable works behind. The case has
never been solved and there is a $5 million reward for any information
pertaining to the return of the artworks. Also, authorities have announced that
they will not prosecute anyone who has the paintings and offers to return them.
More on the details of this interesting robbery can be read here.
City Bonds
Robbery
2nd May
1990- London, UK: £292 million
John Goddard was a 58 year old messenger working for broker Sheppards,
who was mugged whilst carrying a briefcase on a quiet London side street.
However, the contents of that briefcase contained £292 million in bearer bonds.
Goddard was delivering Bank of England Treasury bills from banks and building
societies. Due to the nature of bearer bonds, whoever is carrying them is
deemed the owner. They are as good as cash. He was held at knifepoint, whilst
his assailant made off with 301 Treasury bills, most valued at £1 million each.
Keith Cheeseman was arrested in connection to the crime and received a 6 and a
half year sentence. Police believe that the mugging was carried out by Patrick
Thomas, but he was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head before he could be
charged. All but 2 of the bonds were recovered after police and the FBI
infiltrated the gang responsible. It’s amazing that the second largest robbery
in history was carried out by a low level thief brandishing only a knife on an
insignificant back street.
Central
Bank of Iraq
18th March
2003- Baghdad, Iraq: $1 billion
Some robberies require careful planning. Others use brute force. But the
largest in history was as simple was it was effective. Saddam Hussein treated
Iraq as his own personal fiefdom, so it’s no surprise that he would feel that
the Central Bank of Iraq was his personal bank account. The day before
Coalition forces began bombing Iraq, he sent his son Qusay to make a withdrawal
on his behalf with a handwritten note. Qusay oversaw the withdrawal of boxes
stuffed with $100 bills in a five-hour operation which netted the dictator
about $1 billion in US dollars. It didn’t get him very far, as he was caught
sometime later hiding in a hole in the ground whilst his son was killed by US
forces. Approximately $650 million was later found by US troops hidden in the walls
of one of his palace’s, though the remaining $350 million has never been
recovered and is considered lost.
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