Banking heists have captured the public imagination very often, inspiring innumerable stories, films and characters. Here’s bringing you a few of the greatest banking heists in history.
United California Bank Robbery, USA: This robbery set a world record in 1972 when the United California Bank was robbed of about $30 million. Amil Dinsio led a group of seven men from Ohio, who broke into a branch of the Bank in Laguna Niguel, California, and looted the safe deposit vault. Due to the nature of the contents being undeclared, the actual value of the goods looted can only be estimated. “Superthiefâ€, a book written by Phil Christopher, who was involved in the robbery, provides a detailed account of the heist. The group was ultimately caught by the FBI. Â
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British Bank of the Middle East, Lebanon: £25 million: Yasser Arafat led terrorist group PLO, which fought for the Palestinian people’s right to their homeland, robbed about 12 banks in January 1976. Lebanon was in the middle of a civil war at the time, and that provided the perfect time and opportunity for the heist. The largest of the banks looted was the British Bank of the Middle East. The group made off with £25 million worth of gold, jewels, stocks and currency, valued at much more than $100 million in today’s money. They entered the bank vault by blasting through the wall of the bank that it shared with the neighbouring church. They used the help of locksmiths to open the vaults and took two days to completely loot everything that was kept there.
The Great Train Robbery: Executed on 8th August 1963, at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England, the Great Train Heist is perhaps, the most famous robbery in the world. Fifteen crooks led by the gang leader Bruce Reynolds, robbed a post office train of about 2.3 million pounds. The robbers used a fake signal light to stop the train and knocked off the train driver with an iron rod, without using any guns. They proceeded to steal 120 mail bags containing 2.3 million pounds which equals 40 million pounds in today’s  time. All of the robbers involved were, however, caught over the course of the next four years.
Central Bank of Iraq: Touted to be the largest robbery in history, Saddam Hussein robbed the Central Bank of Iraq of about $1 billion. 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 billion in a five-hour operation. Approximately $650 million was later recovered by the US troops hidden in the walls of one of his palaces, though the remaining $350 million has never been found and is considered lost.
The Banco Central, Brazil: Arguably one of the most creative heists in history, the robbers of this bank were able to steal almost $70 million by tunneling below the bank that spanned over 250 feet. The gang of robbers claimed to be a landscaping business. They took three months to build the tunnel, which had lightning and air conditioning as well. The team was said to have mathematical skills and high quality equipment. Some of those suspected to have been involved have been caught, although only 9 million has been recovered.