2025 Gelsenkirchen heist

The theft took place at a Sparkasse bank in Buer, Gelsenkirchen, Germany.^[2] The bank held 3,300 safe deposit boxes.^[3] The estimate of items stolen was initially reported as €30 million,^[1] with investigators suspecting the total value stolen as ranging between €10 million and €90 million.^[4]

According to police, the break-in likely occurred over the weekend of 27–28 December 2025. The thieves used a large drill to break into the vault.^[1] The boxes were held in the bank's underground vault, which was broken in to from the adjacent parking garage.^[1][2] Police have described the burglary as well organized and "very professionally executed".^[4][5]

During the night of 27 December, several men were seen by witnesses carrying large bags in the parking garage. In the early morning of 29 December, a black Audi RS 6 with masked men inside and a stolen licence plate left the parking garage.^[1]

The police had been alerted to dust and suspicious activity at the bank earlier on 27 December but found no signs of a break-in. An internal police review was begun regarding this oversight.^[3][6]

The theft was discovered after a fire alarm was triggered at 3:58 a.m. on 29 December.^[3][7] Police and firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after.^[8]

Over 3,000 safe deposit boxes were broken into with an average insurance value of €10,000, although customers at the bank have said that the actual value may have been much higher. Items stolen included cash, jewelry and precious metals such as gold.^[1] Ninety-five percent of the boxes at the bank were broken into and an estimated 2,700 customers were affected.^[2][8] Most of the victims of the burglary were of Turkish or Arab origin.^[5][9] One Turkish victim claimed that the theft was likely deliberately targeted at foreign clients.^[9]

As of March 2026^[update], the identities of the criminals are unknown, no arrests have been made, and the perpetrators are at large.^[1][10] The thieves likely escaped the area before police were alerted to the break-in.^[3]

Following the announcement of the theft, hundreds of customers arrived at the bank to find out information regarding the theft and demanding access to their boxes.^[2][3] They were barred from entering by the police after threats were made at employees.^[1][2] The bank has remained closed due to ongoing security threats.^[1]

On 2 January 2026, police released CCTV footage of the bank's underground parking garage showing the masked suspects entering and leaving with the aforementioned black Audi RS 6, and also a white van, whose involvement in the theft is being investigated. The suspects' use of branded clothing and colorful gloves was remarked as possibly facilitating future identification.^[11] The police also reported then that a task force was created to cope with the influx of tip-offs being received.^[11]

A spokesperson for the Gelsenkirchen police said that the theft was "very professionally executed" and compared it to the film Ocean's Eleven.^[1] They also said that the theft had to have required extensive planning and inside knowledge of the bank.^[5]

According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the heist may be one of the largest thefts in German history.^[12]

On 19 February 2026, executives of the Sparkasse bank, the chief of police in charge of the investigations, and around 200 victims of the heist gathered in a conference to address concerns and doubts surrounding the crime. In the occasion, Sparkasse executives apologized for the incident, as well as for the lack of communication that followed.^[10]

• 1995 Berlin-Zehlendorf bank robbery [de]—a 170-meter-tunnel-aided heist valued at 16.3 million Deutsche Marks (8.33 million Euros in 2025)
• 2013 Berlin-Steglitz bank heist [de]—an unsolved 45-meter-tunnel-aided break-in valued between 9 and 10 million Euros
• 2025 Louvre heist
• Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary