German Bank Heist Victims Devastated as Thieves Plunder 3,000 Deposit Boxes
Faqir Malyar, a carpet trader from the western German city of Gelsenkirchen, was driving to visit a customer during the Christmas holidays when a radio news bulletin delivered shocking information. Thieves had executed a major bank robbery at a local Sparkasse savings bank, drilling into the vault and looting the contents of nearly 3,250 safety deposit boxes. For Malyar, the news was a personal catastrophe. He had stored his retirement savings and precious family heirloom jewellery within that very vault.
An Unprecedented Criminal Operation
Police believe the audacious theft was carried out over a four-hour period on 27 December. The criminals gained access to the bank from an adjoining car park through a manipulated emergency exit. Once inside, they used a massive 300kg industrial drill to bore a hole directly into the vault's reinforced wall. The scale and sophistication of the operation led a police spokesperson to liken it to the Hollywood film Ocean's Eleven.
André Dobersch, the chief investigator, labelled it an "unprecedented crime" and criticised attempts on social media to trivialise the case. "We're not talking about safe-crackers in a comic," he stated, "but about criminals who've caused sleepless nights and destroyed livelihoods." The police were only alerted 48 hours later when a fire alarm was activated, arriving to discover the break-in. CCTV footage shows masked suspects, believed to number between five and seven men, leaving the scene in a black Audi and a white Mercedes van, both bearing stolen licence plates. Three weeks after the heist, the suspects remain at large.
Dreams and Savings Gone in an Instant
For Faqir Malyar, the 67-year-old carpet trader, the robbery has shattered his plans. After hearing the news, he spent 45 minutes waiting on a bank hotline, hoping against hope that his deposit box, number 1,413, had been spared. He was told it was among the thousands that had been emptied. "I felt as numb as if I'd had an injection," Malyar recounted. He fears his dreams of retiring soon with his wife have now evaporated. His carpet shop, located around the corner from the bank, has become an impromptu support centre for other victims. "I dish out tea," he said. "I have become something of a counsellor to those in a similar position who come by to share their woes with me."
In the days following the heist, angry and emotional customers gathered outside the bank, chanting "let us in" and demanding answers. The estimated total haul could be worth as much as €300m (£260m), potentially making it one of the biggest bank heists in German history. Many victims have reported that their boxes contained items valued at €40,000 or more. A further shock came when they learned that the basic insurance policy provided by the bank would cover only up to €10,300 per box.
A Pattern of Brazen Attacks on Banks
Security experts and lawyers suggest this robbery is part of a worrying trend. Jürgen Hennemann, an insurance lawyer who has represented victims of over two dozen German bank robberies since 2012, said criminals are becoming increasingly brazen as financial institutions fail to address security shortcomings. "The banks have been constantly warned over 13, 14 years that they are in the crosshairs of organised crime," he explained, adding that despite the warnings, many have failed to act adequately. "The attacks are getting more and more intense; the robberies are happening ever closer together," Hennemann noted.
He cited the example of a Sparkasse in Norderstedt near Hamburg, which was broken into in 2021 by criminals who rented the apartment above and drilled through the concrete ceiling to access 650 safety deposit boxes. Losses in that case were estimated between €11m and €40m. Klaus Nachtigall, the former head of Berlin's criminal police office and now a security consultant, expressed frustration. "There are now so many such cases, but the financial institutions don't seem to want to learn from them," he said. "It's upsetting to know that these acts are preventable. If security systems are working, the alarm should sound at the first sign of a piece of debris falling out of the wall."
Bank's Response and Legal Fallout
In a statement, Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen defended its security protocols. "We can only say that our security technology meets recognised state-of-the-art standards. We ensure this through our collaboration with specialist companies. Within the last two years, the burglar and fire alarm systems in our buildings have been inspected and upgraded," the bank stated. Michael Klotz, the head of the Gelsenkirchen branch, described both the bank and its customers as "victims of a burglary carried out with highly criminal energy and using complex technology," telling local media they were in a "constant race between security technology and criminals."
For the victims, such assurances offer little comfort. Hans Reinhardt, a lawyer preparing to represent many of them, shared the plight of his clients. One man had stored gold bars worth €600,000 to fund his retirement. "Many people told me that out of fear of war and inflation they had moved away from stocks and bank accounts, investing in gold instead. Some said they kept larger sums of cash on hand so they could access it quickly if needed," Reinhardt explained. These items, seen as a bulwark against catastrophe, are now gone. About 230 police officers have been assigned to "Operation Drill," but with the perpetrators still free and livelihoods destroyed, the search for answers and accountability continues for the devastated customers of the Gelsenkirchen Sparkasse.
