Five arrested over brazen Paris bank heist

In the early hours of 7 June, officers from the French National Police (Police Nationale) and the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) carried out a series of coordinated raids close to Paris (France) and Malaga (Spain). A total of five suspects – 3 French nationals and 2 Algerian nationals – were arrested for their involvement in an armed bank robbery in Paris. 

In 2019, this organised crime group pulled off a bank robbery off the Champs-Elysee, locking staff and customers in for hours while they opened over sixty safe deposit boxes before fleeing with their loot. The value of the stolen items is estimated at several millions of euros.

The arrests this week took place in the region of Paris. A property owned by one of the suspects in Spain has also been seized in the framework of a Freezing Order. 

Europol support 

• Europol brought together the national investigators on both sides who have since been working closely together to prepare for the action day;
• Since then, Europol has provided continuous intelligence development and analysis to support the field investigators;
• On the action day, a specialist from Europol’s Serious Organised Crime Centre (ESOCC) was deployed to Paris to assist the French authorities with the cross-checking of operational information. At the same time, a specialist from Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) was sent to Spain to assist the Civil Guard with asset recovery. 

This investigation was carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).