Thieves Drill into German Bank Vault, Steal €30M
The Spin
Narrative A
Professional criminals executed a meticulously planned heist using industrial equipment and insider knowledge, drilling through reinforced concrete to steal €30 million in a sophisticated operation. Police failed catastrophically when they responded to a fire alarm during the robbery but found no signs of break-in and simply left, allowing the thieves to continue undisturbed. This is one of Germany's biggest heists, joining a troubling pattern of spectacular crimes linked to organized syndicates.
Narrative B
The real scandal isn't just the theft but the bank's complete failure to protect customer assets and provide basic information afterward, leaving over 2,500 victims in the dark. Insurance coverage of only €10,300 per box means customers who stored valuable gold, jewelry and cash face devastating, uncompensated losses, since banks don't track locker contents and victims must prove what they owned. The delayed discovery and botched alarm response exposed systemic security failures that allowed criminals to work undetected for days.