The Daily Baku
International
Thieves tunnel into German bank vault, escaping with millions
December 31, 2025
14:42
Criminals took advantage of the quiet Christmas holidays to drill into the vault of a German retail bank, stealing at least €10 million in cash and valuables from customers’ safe deposit boxes, police said on Tuesday.
“The Daily Baku” reports, that According to investigators, the thieves bored through a reinforced concrete wall at a Sparkasse branch in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. Once inside, they forced open several thousand deposit boxes and made off with valuables estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros.
With most businesses and banks closed in Germany from the evening of December 24, the break-in went unnoticed until a fire alarm was triggered in the early hours of Monday, December 29, alerting police to the breach.
On Tuesday, dozens of furious customers gathered outside the bank, chanting “Let us in!” and demanding information. One man told broadcaster Welt that he had been unable to sleep, saying the deposit box he had used for 25 years held his retirement savings. Another customer said he stored cash and jewellery there for his family.
Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Police said witnesses reported seeing several men carrying large bags through the stairwell of a nearby parking garage late on Saturday night. Investigators also received reports of a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage early Monday morning with masked occupants. The car’s licence plate belonged to a vehicle stolen in Hanover, more than 200 kilometres northeast of Gelsenkirchen, police added.
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