In the western German city of Gelsenkirchen, a daring robbery took place at the Sparkasse bank, which the police are already comparing to the plot of the famous film Ocean’s Eleven. Unknown criminals broke into the underground vault through a neighboring parking lot, drilling a huge hole in the concrete wall with a powerful drill, and made off with valuables worth around €30-100 million.
According to police, the robbery took place during the Christmas holidays when the bank was closed. The criminals probably spent several days in the vault — from the weekend until Monday — methodically breaking into more than 3,000 individual safe deposit boxes. They contained cash, gold bars, coins, jewelry, and other valuables. The official estimate of the damage from the bank and police is around €30 million (with an average insurance value of €10,000 per box), but some sources, including Al Jazeera, say the actual value of the contents could be as high as $105 million.
The robbery was only discovered on Monday morning, December 29, when the fire alarm went off and rescuers found a hole in the wall. A police representative told AFP: “It was done very professionally — like in the movie Ocean’s Eleven. It required a great deal of prior knowledge and criminal energy.”
On Tuesday, December 30, hundreds of alarmed customers gathered at the bank branch, demanding information about their losses. Many complain that the contents of their safe deposit boxes exceed the insurance amount and are now hoping for additional payments under their home insurance policies. The police cordoned off the building, and the situation became tense, but later calmed down.
The suspects fled, possibly in a black Audi RS 6 with stolen license plates. CCTV cameras captured images of men carrying large bags in the parking lot. The investigation is ongoing, with no arrests made so far.
This robbery is already being called one of the largest in modern German history. It is reminiscent of a series of high-profile thefts in Europe in 2025, including the recent raid on the Louvre in Paris. The criminals remain at large, and the police are searching for the “Christmas thieves.”