History is plagued with numerous heists and robberies, many of which the Police and investigators were able to get to bottom of the truth, apprehend the assailants and report the stories of how the robbery took place. Among this pile of heists is the Dar Es Salaam Bank Heist, which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest bank robbery in history, after the thieves carted away with almost $300 Million. Yet very little is known about the details of the crime, not even the name or pictures of the assailants. Gathering and pieces scraps from the archives here is everything we know about the Dar Es Salaam Bank Heist, one of the most mysterious heists in history.
The Robbery
The largest bank robbery in history took place on 11 July 2007 at the Dar es Salaam Investment Bank. The theft was reportedly an inside job, with two (or perhaps three, reports vary) of the bank’s security guards involved. The thieves made off with $282 million in US Dollars and 220 million Iraqi Dinars (worth around $173,000 at the time).
It was unclear why the bank had that much money on hand in dollars, or how the robbers managed to move such a large amount without being detected. Several officials speculated that the robbers had connections to the sectarian militias active in Baghdad at the time because it would be difficult for them to move without being searched through many checkpoints in Baghdad.
The robbery took place during the Iraqi Civil War (2006–2008), the resources and reach of the Iraqi police were severely constrained and no one seems to have ever been charged.
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Investigation
Although the date and number of people involved were confirmed, there aren’t records of what actually happened or how they were able to steal the money. The bank employees arrived at work the morning after the theft to discover the vault open, the doors unlocked, and a total amount of $282 million gone.
Although authorities dedicated time to investigate the robbery, to this day, no one was arrested or any cash recovered, which is why many questions remain unanswered. The biggest unanswered question, however, is how a relatively small private bank came to have $282 million US Dollars in cash.
Reports immediately suspected a link between the cash, Iraqi Government corruption, poor financial management on the part of the Coalition Provisional Authority (who famously shipped in more than 300 tons of cash during the first few months of the occupation), and the sectarian militias that filled the power vacuum in post-invasion Iraq. As a consequence of these politically difficult questions, there seems to have been little appetite to get to the bottom of this case.
Aftermath
The Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank was one of the largest commercial banks in Iraq. It was established in 1998. The Bank provides banking products and services in Iraq and offers corporate and personal banking solutions, which include account services in Iraqi dinars and foreign currency, and local and international payment services among others.
The Bank (which was 70% owned by HSBC between 2005 and 2013) remained in business for more than a decade after the heist but seems to have shut down in 2018. Its last financial statements were submitted to the Iraqi Securities and Exchange Commission in Q2 2018.
