$6 Million Costa Rican Bank Heist Likely an Inside Job: Police

A bank employee in San Jose, Costa Rica, divulged a month-long plan to complete a $6 million heist at the bank he worked at, authorities revealed Wednesday. 

Little by little, the suspect took advantage of a blind spot in the bank’s security camera layout and slipped millions of dollars of currency into envelopes in small increments over several months. 

Authorities declared it the biggest bank heist in Costa Rican history, per ABC News.

The robbery allegedly went unnoticed and unreported for months, and caused a slew of finger-pointing when the money was officially discovered missing. 

Police facilitated 11 raids and arrested eight bank officials Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. 

A treasurer at the bank allegedly took the cash out while several others covered it up. Authorities are trying to determine if the other employees were in on the robbery, or simply didn’t want to take the blame when the money was discovered missing.

The last physical counting of the bank’s cash was made nearly four years ago, in 2019, causing investigators to speculate if the bank’s legal director ordered a delayed report regarding the missing cash. 

One individual thought to be involved in the heist began spending nearly $6,000 a day on lottery tickets, leading authorities to question where they were acquiring the money. 

“There was neglect on the part of all of the other officials,” Randall Zúñiga, director of the Judicial Investigation Department told ABC. “They did not sufficiently look into the fact that this person was taking this money. He was able to very casually leave with the envelope in his hands, passing through the security points and there was no internal control.”