Central Bank Tunnel Robbery (2005 Brazil)

On the weekend of August 6 and 7 in 2005, a gang tunneled their way to the Banco Central in Fortaleza. They had spent the previous months renting a house 2 blocks from the bank, where they posed as a business selling grass and plants. Witnesses in the neighborhood would see the men leave with van loads of soil, but this was not suspicious. They tunneled their way from the house to the bank vault, 2 blocks away, 78 meters of tunnels. They had even installed wood and plastic finish on the tunnel, with lighting and air conditioning. They finally broke through 1.1 meters of steel reinforced concrete to enter the vault and they were able to disable the banks alarms. They made off with roughly $70 million in bank notes. Unfortunately to the bank, this money was not insured, nor was it numbered so it was impossible to be tracked. Luis Fernando Ribeiro, the man suspected to be the leader of the burglars, was found shot in Rio de Janeiro a few months later. Authorities were able to arrest 5 of the men and seize roughly $7 million, but the remaining $63 million is unaccounted for.

The Great Train Robbery (1963 UK)

On August 8th, 1963, a group of 15 robbers boarded Royal Mail's traveling post office train. One member, of the few never identified, hit the train driver across the head with an iron bar. They were then able to seize $74 million in banknotes. The police were able to arrest 13 of the 15, by discovering their finger prints at their hideout in Buckinghamshire. One member, Ronnie Biggs escaped from prison after 15 months, running off to Australia and then to Brazil. Another member, Charlie Wilson, escaped and was living outside Montreal, where he was eventually found when his wife made a phone call to England, leading authorities to his location. The Great Train Robbery proved an incredible feat as $74 million was stolen without the use of guns. 

(train driver Jack Mills)

Securitas Depot Robbery (2006 UK)

On the 22nd of February 2006, The UK experienced its largest ever robbery. The manager of the Securitas Depot in the Western British county of Kent, Colin Dixon, was pulled over by what appeared to be a police officer. The police officer put him in his car, where other men handcuffed him. He was then driven to where he was transferred into a white van and driven to a remote location in Western Kent. Dixon's wife and 8 year old son were simultaneously being held hostage at their home, as more imposter police officers knocked on their door and held them at gunpoint. They were then driven to the location where Dixon was being held; he was warned that failure to cooperate placed his wife and child in danger. They then drove the family to the Securitas Depot at gunpoint, entered the facility, and bound all staff, proceeding to take what equals $92.5 million. The police arrived on the scene hours later to discover Dixon, his family, and staff physically unharmed.

Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Robbery (1987 UK)

In 1987 in Knightsbridge, London, 2 men entered the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre asking to rent a safe deposit box. When they were brought to the vault, they pulled out handguns and subdued the guards. They then proceeded to hang a sign on the door explaining that the Safe Deposit Centre was temporarily closed, allowing more accomplices in simultaneously. This let them take their sweet time in ceasing the greatest sum of money possible. They busted open the safe deposit boxes and made off with what is estimated to equal $111 million. Police eventually discovered a finger print of a man named Valerio Viccei, and he and many accomplices were arrested the following month after a series of planned robberies. He then went on to write a book about his exploits.

Boston Museum Heist (1990 US)

On March 18, 1990, after St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Boston, the city experienced its biggest heist of all time, one of the biggest in history. Two men disguised as police officers knocked on the side entrance of the Museum at 1:00 AM and were let in by security guards whom they easily overpowered. It has been said that those doors are never opened for anyone knocking in the middle of the night, so as to why it was that night is unknown. They handcuffed and duct taped the guards in the basement as they went about their business. In a matter of 90 minutes, the robbers stole over $300 million worth of art. These included paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Flinck, Degas, and Manet. Many paintings were violently torn from their frames. The thieves took off with the museum's security tapes.

Here are images of the stolen art:

Largest Bank Robbery in History (2003 Iraq)

In March of 2003, a day before the US began bombing Baghdad, almost $1 billion was taken from the Central Bank of Iraq. This was considered the largest bank robbery operation in history. US troops later found $650 million hidden in the walls of Saddam Hussein's palace. This was suspected as being the bulk of the robbery's score, but the remaining money has not been found. Another $250 million was stolen from the same bank later in March, but the robbers are assumed professionals, not connected to Hussein.