Wed Dec 31 12:24:51 UTC 2025: Gelsenkirchen Bank Robbery: Thieves Steal Up to $105 Billion in Christmas Heist, Customers Outraged
Gelsenkirchen, Germany – A daring robbery during the Christmas holiday has left customers of a Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, reeling after thieves made off with an estimated $11.8 million to $105.7 million in cash, gold, and jewelry from safe deposit boxes. Police are calling the heist “very professionally executed,” likening it to the movie Ocean’s Eleven.
According to police reports, the robbers breached the bank from an adjacent parking garage, drilling through a thick concrete wall to access the underground vault room. They then forced open approximately 3,000 safe deposit boxes before escaping. The crime is possibly among the largest in German history.
The brazen act was discovered after a fire alarm was triggered on Monday. Security footage shows a black Audi RS 6, its plates stolen from Hanover, fleeing the scene in the early hours of that day.
The incident has sparked outrage among customers, who gathered outside the bank on Tuesday, demanding answers. One police spokesperson reported receiving threats toward bank employees, and the branch remained closed as authorities investigated.
The bank has established a customer hotline and is contacting affected individuals, as well as working with insurers to address compensation claims.
“We are shocked,” said bank press spokesman Frank Krallmann. “We are standing by our customers and hope that the perpetrators will be caught.”
The German authorities are continuing their investigation. This incident comes on the heels of other high-profile heists in recent months, including the theft of Napoleonic jewelry from the Louvre Museum in Paris.
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