The story of the Lloyds Bank robbery | They stole Britain's most dangerous secrets by accident

On January 13, 2006, in the city of Acassuso near Buenos Aires, the largest bank in Argentina was hit in an armed robbery. The gang stormed the bank and took customers and employees hostage. Just fifteen minutes later, it seemed like the plan had failed: one robber tried to escape with a hostage but was met with a full police blockade. He returned inside, seemingly cornered along with his accomplices.

But this was all part of a masterfully crafted illusion. The gang leader was actually executing what would later be known as the most brilliant bank heist ever—“The Heist of the Century.”

It began on May 15, 2005, when Fernando Araujo told his psychologist that he wanted to do something to reignite his passion for life. When asked what, he said, “I want to rob a bank.” The psychologist laughed. He wasn’t joking.

Araujo was a bright man: a legal assistant and part-time actor. He began riding his motorcycle around Acassuso, scouting banks. Banco Río stood out—a major bank where most Argentines kept their savings, with a secure vault full of safe deposit boxes storing cash, gold, diamonds, and more.

He weighed two options: robbing employee safes during a stickup (a risky move with limited payoff), or breaking into the underground vault (high reward but nearly impossible). Cameras and heat sensors connected directly to the police made it seem hopeless.

Then he noticed a pattern: manhole covers leading to a large sewer system 160 meters from the vault. If he could reach the bank through there, it might work.

For 35 days, he studied every detail. He recruited Sebastián Bolster, an engineer who hated banks after his family’s savings were wiped out. They called each other “The Leader” and “The Engineer.”

The Engineer entered the bank pretending to be a wealthy client, using a hidden camera to film the vault. But the operation needed money, so The Leader brought in “The Doctor,” a mysterious mastermind who recruited the rest of the crew: “The Financier,” a silver-tongued con man; “The Fierce One,” a hardened ex-con; and “The Kid,” a trusted operative.

The plan was bold: dig a 30-meter tunnel from the sewer to the vault. The Engineer designed a heat-insulated suit to beat the sensors, but it proved too restrictive. So they switched strategies — enter the bank in disguise, fake a failed robbery, then escape with the loot through the sewer.

Weapons were required, but they used plastic toy guns. The Engineer also built a special compressed-air tool called “The Gun” to break vault locks in seconds.

On the morning of January 13, a vintage Volkswagen pulled up to Banco Río. Four men in gray uniforms, blonde wigs, and ski masks entered and took control. Inside, they acted nervous and clumsy to sell the illusion of a botched job.

Outside, the police quickly surrounded the bank. One robber, The Financier, pretended to try and escape with a hostage, only to be "forced" back inside—again, part of the act.

Meanwhile, The Engineer emerged in the vault after tunneling through the wall, beginning to crack open hundreds of safe deposit boxes with “The Doctor.”

The Leader used the hostages to delay the police, even ordering pizza to buy more time.

Once done, they loaded bags of cash, jewelry, and gold into the tunnel. They left toy guns and a fake bomb behind to confuse the police and delay their entry.

They floated the loot through the sewer on inflatable rafts to an exit 200 meters away. “The Kid” waited above in the Volkswagen, modified with a hidden trapdoor for the escapees. They drove off, leaving the police still negotiating with ghosts.

Hours later, the police stormed the bank—and found nothing. No robbers. No real weapons. Just silence.

The crew split the money and agreed to disappear.

But betrayal came from within. The Financier’s wife took $100,000 worth of the loot and, after a fight, reported everything to the police. One by one, the gang was arrested: The Financier, The Leader, The Engineer, and The Fierce One. The Doctor and The Kid escaped the country.

None of the money was recovered. The bank absorbed the loss.

Each received sentences of 9–15 years, but none served more than three thanks to clever legal defenses and public sympathy.

Years later, their story became a hit movie. In a surprising twist, they donated 30% of the film’s profits back to the bank.

And thus, "The Heist of the Century" became known as the smartest robbery ever pulled off in modern history.