1. The Central Bank of Iraq Robbery
Stolen: Over $920 million
Another crime in Baghdad went down in history as the largest bank heist ever. Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq, was the mastermind.
He dispatched three huge trucks to the Central Bank the day before the Iraq War began in 2003. He also sent a handwritten note to his son Qusay, requesting a withdrawal of approximately $1 billion to keep cash out of enemy hands. The funds were put into vans and transported away.
The majority of the money was recovered in the subsequent raids, but the story doesn’t end there. American soldiers who were tasked with counting the illicit plunder took off with hundreds of thousands of dollars for themselves and their families. A total of 35 servicemen were apprehended.
Credit: MoneyWise