German holiday heist drills into bank vault, up to $105m missing

A meticulously planned robbery over the Christmas holidays has shaken western Germany, after thieves drilled their way into an underground vault at a Sparkasse savings bank branch in Gelsenkirchen, making off with cash, gold and jewellery potentially worth as much as $105m.

Police said on Tuesday that the perpetrators used a large industrial drill to bore through a thick concrete wall from an adjacent parking garage, gaining access to the vault of the Sparkasse branch in the city. Once inside, they forced open more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes.

Investigators estimate the haul could be worth anywhere between 10 and 90 million euros, according to police spokesperson Thomas Nowaczyk. German news agency dpa reported that the scale of the theft could place it among the largest bank robberies in the country’s history.

Sparkasse confirmed that the branch had been “broken into over the Christmas holidays” and said that “more than 95 percent of the 3,250 customer safe deposit boxes were broken into by unknown perpetrators”. Police believe the suspects may have remained inside the building for several days, using the extended holiday shutdown to work undetected.

The crime only came to light early on Monday morning, when a fire alarm was triggered. Emergency responders who arrived discovered a large hole leading directly into the vault room.

Witnesses later told police they had seen several men carrying large bags through the parking garage stairwell overnight between Saturday and Sunday. Security camera footage showed a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage early on Monday, with masked occupants inside. The vehicle was later linked to licence plates from a car stolen in Hanover, more than 200 kilometres away.

Police described the operation as highly professional, with one spokesperson likening it to an Ocean’s Eleven-style caper. “A great deal of prior knowledge and/or a great deal of criminal energy must have been involved to plan and carry this out,” he said.

Authorities noted that while the average insured value of each deposit box was just over 10,000 euros, many customers have reported losses far exceeding that amount. On Tuesday, hundreds of anxious account holders gathered outside the closed branch, demanding information and reassurance.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. We’re getting no information,” one customer told broadcaster Welt, saying he had stored his retirement savings in the vault for 25 years.

The bank said it had set up a hotline for affected customers and was working with insurers to determine compensation.

“We are shocked,” Sparkasse spokesperson Frank Krallmann said. “We are standing by our customers, and hope that the perpetrators will be caught.”