📅This fact may be outdated
The fact WAS accurate - the 2003 Iraq Central Bank robbery was indeed the largest bank robbery in history at ~$1 billion. However, the present tense 'is now' makes this outdated. While it remains ONE of the largest, other massive heists have occurred since, and the claim should be in past tense to reflect historical accuracy.
Just before the US started bombing Baghdad, nearly $1 billion dollars was stolen from the Central Bank of Iraq and is now the largest bank robbery in history.
The Billion-Dollar Heist: Saddam's Last-Minute Bank Job
On March 18, 2003, the day before American forces entered Baghdad, a convoy of trucks pulled up to the Central Bank of Iraq. What happened next wasn't a Hollywood-style heist with masks and guns—it was something far more audacious. Saddam Hussein had sent his son Qusay with a handwritten note ordering the bank to hand over nearly $1 billion in cash.
And they did. No questions asked.
A Dictator's Withdrawal Slip
The note, signed by Saddam himself, demanded that $920 million be withdrawn immediately and given to Qusay Hussein. Bank officials had no choice but to comply. For five hours, they loaded boxes of $100 bills—secured with official stamped seals—into trucks and trailers. By the time the convoy disappeared at 4 a.m., $1.04 billion had walked out the front door.
This wasn't a robbery in the traditional sense. It was state-sanctioned theft, executed by the regime itself as Baghdad braced for invasion. The timing was no coincidence—Saddam knew his days in power were numbered.
What Happened to the Money?
Coalition forces eventually recovered about $650 million of the stolen cash, much of it stashed in palaces belonging to Saddam's sons. The money was found during searches and patrols across Iraq in the months following the invasion.
But here's where it gets stranger: $379 million was never found. And in 2012, the Pentagon admitted it had somehow lost $100 million of the money that was recovered, chalking it up to a "records management error."
Qusay Hussein and his brother Uday were killed by U.S. forces on July 22, 2003, in a firefight in Mosul. Whatever they knew about the missing millions died with them.
Still the Biggest?
For years, this heist held the Guinness World Record for the largest bank robbery in history. While other massive heists have occurred since—including cyber thefts involving even larger sums—the 2003 Baghdad job remains the largest physical cash robbery ever pulled off.
The scale is hard to fathom. One billion dollars in $100 bills weighs about 10 tons. It took multiple trucks just to haul it away. And unlike most bank robberies, which are desperate gambles by criminals, this was orchestrated by a head of state looting his own country's reserves.
In the chaotic final days of Saddam's regime, with bombs about to fall and an empire crumbling, someone made sure to grab the cash on the way out. It was the ultimate inside job—and one of the most brazen thefts in modern history.