The 05 Most successful Bank Robberies In History

The Most successful Bank Robberies In  History

According to the FBI, there were nearly 4,000 bank robberies and burglaries in the US last year alone. Of course, there are exceptions.

Here are 10 instances in which a combination of cunning, brute force, and luck have resulted in some truly astonishing heists. However, despite the frequency, it's rare that would-be bandits make off with much more than a few thousand bucks before getting swiftly apprehended.

1.Central Bank of Iraq Robbery.

Reports suggest that following the crime, a note signed by Hussein surfaced, instructing that $920 million be withdrawn by the bank and given it to his son Qusay, who reportedly spent the better part of five hours with another unknown individual loading the heaps of money into vehicles to an undisclosed location. Today, it's unclear how much of the total missing cash has been recovered, but it's believed that at least $650 million was discovered in one of Hussein's palaces during a raid. Baghdad, Iraq; 2003

Stolen: Over $920 million

Considered the biggest bank heist in history, this bold theft was allegedly ordered directly by Saddam Hussein himself just days before the American invasion.

2.The Knightsbridge Vault Robbery.

Viccei enjoyed a brief period of freedom by fleeing to South America, only to be intercepted by British authorities and jailed when he came back to visit England in order to retrieve and ship his Ferrari Testarossa. London; 1987

Stolen: £62 million ($97 million)

Perpetrated by Italian playboy and career criminal Valerio Viccei—who was implicated in over 50 different bank robberies during his lifetime—the execution of this operation was surprisingly simple. After entering the bank during business hours under the guise of opening a safety deposit box, he and his armed accomplice "subdued" the manager and security guards, freeing them up to let in more accomplices to help bust open as much of the vault as possible. Eventually, they walked out with at least £62 million in cash, jewelry, and other valuables.

3.Brink's-MAT Robbery

Their original plan involved taking just the £3 million in cash thought to be under lock and key, but that changed once they discovered an additional three tons of gold bullion and diamonds, significantly padding their planned payday. Several subsequent murders have been linked to the case, and while much of the gang involved has since been convicted, the gold has never been recovered. London, 1983
Stolen: £26 million ($41 million)
On an early morning in November, six robbers made their way into the Brink's-MAT warehouse at Heathrow Airport with help from a security guard who was in on the job.

4.Dar Es Salaam Bank Heist

While many of the details related to this major robbery of mostly American cash remain shrouded in mystery, the Iraqi Interior Minister did reveal that the whole heist was engineered by a pair of guards who worked for the bank and were allegedly connected to militias roaming the region back in 2007.Baghdad, Iraq; 2007

Stolen: $282 millions. 

5.Dunbar Armored Robbery

However, to this day, more than half of the money remains unaccounted for. Once they gained access to the loot, they loaded up a U-Haul and escaped, nearly getting away with the whole thing until one of the perpetrators got sloppy and eventually confessed. The mastermind was a regional safety inspector for Dunbar who recruited five of his childhood friends to ambush the guards at a stocked cash drop vault on a Friday night. Los Angeles; 1997

Stolen: $18.9 million

The largest cash robbery to have ever occurred in the US also happened be an inside job.