The Biggest Bank Heist In Beirut’s History

In 1976, a group of robbers undertook one of the biggest bank heists in history when they broke in and stole over £22m (or £100m in today’s terms) from the British Bank of the Middle East (BBME) in Beirut.

Guinness World Records considers this one of the greatest robbery of safe deposit boxes in history, with over $50 million (£22m) estimated to have been robbed from just the boxes. The record books describe the incident as occurring “during the extreme civil disorder prior to 22 January 1976 in Beirut, Lebanon,” when “a guerrilla force blasted the vaults of the British Bank of the Middle East in Bab Idriss and cleared out safe-deposit boxes with contents valued by former Finance Minister Lucien Dahdah at $50 million (£;22 million) and by another source at an absolute minimum of $20 million (£;9 million).”

The events of the day are said to be very dramatic, with mortar shells and grenades being used in the initial raid on the bank. Its interior was completely demolished by the explosions, however its giant (and supposedly impregnable) vault door still stood strong.

For the next four hours, the bank raiders are said to have either used the assistance of locksmiths from the Italian mafia or massive explosions to break through the wall, eventually hauling away a massive amount of gold bars, Lebanese money, foreign currencies, stock certificates and jewellery, which reportedly had to be taken away in up to three trucks.

Although no one has ever taken responsibility for the robbery, and no one has ever been caught for it, many different accounts of who undertook the robbery exists. Some consider it to be an operation by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), either in coordination with Corsicans or with the Democratic Front For The Liberation Of Palestine (DFLP). Others have pinned the robbery on the Kataeb party and associated Christian militias, while some have given responsibility to foreign agencies ranging from the KGB to Mossad to the British SAS.

The last account, claiming that was an inside job by the British Special Air Service to get control of documents in the possession of the BBME, seems to one of the most substantiated among the dearth of literature about the heist. The members involved are even said to have taken some money for themselves out of it all.

Whoever the perpetrator, this stands to be one of the greatest and least reported on heists in Lebanon and world history, who do you think did it?

Looking for more fascinating history about banks in Lebanon? You’re in luck! If you loved this, we’re sure you’ll love The Collapse Of Lebanon’s Intra Bank In 1966