Judgment on millions in fortune - After break-in to safe room - Prison sentences for four men
After the spectacular break-in into a Vault Room in Berlin-Charlottenburg with a haul worth millions, four men have been sentenced. The Land Court of the capital imposed sentences ranging from three and a half to eight years. The accused, aged between 26 and 53, were found guilty not only of theft with weapons but also in one case of aiding and abetting. A fifth accused was acquitted.
The court, after a nine-month trial, determined that the loot was worth 17.6 million Euro. The investigators had initially estimated it to be 49 million Euro. The judge, Michael Mattern, described it as a crime with "very high organizational grade" and "high criminal energy." "The trail of the stolen goods disappears with the theft," he added. The judgment is not yet legally binding.
Milder Sentence on Confession
Some of the accused are reportedly linked to the criminal underworld by the Prosecutor's Office. The formerly employed manager of the vault was also sentenced. The 53-year-old confessed and testified against his co-accused. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, the lowest sentence. He provided clarification, stated the judge. "But without him, the crime would not have been possible." Additionally, he received 50,000 Euro for the heist. The court ordered the seizure of 17.6 million Euro in damages from a 28-year-old partially confessing defendant, who opened the vault's safes with four previously unknown accomplices.
Thieves had keys and access codes
When the burglars stood before the door of the vault at Fasanenstraße on November 19, 2022, they were well-equipped: The manager had given them transponders, keys, and access codes beforehand, according to the judgment. He also dismissed the previous security service for the facility and replaced it with that of the alleged accomplices and disabled the alarm system for a certain period.
The burglars began disabling the locks around 7:13 am, according to investigations. Images from a surveillance camera show them carrying out the loot to a transport vehicle and taking it away between 7:14 am and 7:34 pm. Among the items taken were 996 watches worth over 10 million Euro and jewelry, precious metals, and cash. Afterward, they set fires to destroy traces.
Money laundering schemes as background of the crime
The background of the crime is believed to be money laundering schemes of the former vault manager with some of the accused. The 53-year-old admitted to having borrowed a million from them. "Who came up with the idea to empty the safes, the chamber could not determine," said Mattern. The manager and a 42-year-old defendant understood each other, "to target the facility."
The 42-year-old was the "planning accomplice," it was further stated in the judgment. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. A 28-year-old defendant, who was a janitor, received seven years and four months in prison. Both the 42-year-old and the 28-year-old were also found guilty of attempted arson.
The term "Clan criminality" is controversial, as critics argue that it stigmatizes and discriminates against people with a migration background solely based on their family ties and origin.
The prosecution had demanded up to nine years in prison
The prosecution had demanded prison sentences of between three and a half and nine years for the joint theft in a particularly serious case. The defense pleaded for lighter sentences, and in one case for acquittal. The lawyers for the confessing former business manager had requested leniency. The man has been under special protection of the police since his statement to them.
- The prosecution linked some of the accused to the criminal underworld based on their investigations at the Public Prosecutor's Office in Berlin.
- The accused men, aged between 26 and 53, faced a decline in their lives after being sentenced for theft with weapons and aiding and abetting in a German court.
- The storage room where the millions-high loot was kept was found to have been accessed with the help of transponders, keys, and access codes provided by the formerly employed vault manager.
- In order to avoid legal consequences, the accused men attempted to destroy traces of the crime by setting fires in the storage room.
- The 53-year-old manager, who confessed and testified against his co-accused, requested a milder sentence and was rewarded with a punishment of three and a half years in prison.
- The Court of Justice in Germany ordered the seizure of millions of Euro in damages from one of the accused, who partially confessed and had opened the vault's safes with four accomplices.
