Some of the world ’s biggest bank robberies have involved not just organised criminals, but wars, political instability and highly coordinated insider operations, with losses ranging from tens of millions to nearly $1 billion.

According to records documented by Guinness World Records and financial reporting archives, including World Finance, the largest known bank robbery in history remains the 2003 theft from the Central Bank of Iraq, where more than $920 million was stolen in the chaotic days surrounding the Iraq War.

Iraq Heist Remains the Largest on Record

The Central Bank of Iraq robbery unfolded shortly before the United States-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

According to reports widely cited by Guinness World Records, Saddam Hussein allegedly sent his son Qusay Hussein to withdraw approximately $920 million in cash from the central bank using handwritten notes shortly before coalition forces entered Baghdad.

Much of the money was later recovered by U.S. troops hidden inside palace walls, although large sums remain unaccounted for.

The robbery continues to be regarded as the largest bank theft ever recorded.

Dar es Salaam Heist Shocked East Africa

Among the largest modern commercial bank robberies was the Dar es Salaam Bank heist in Iraq, estimated at roughly $282 million.

The case highlighted growing concerns over corruption, weak institutional oversight and the vulnerability of financial systems in conflict-affected regions.

Financial crime experts say some of the largest robberies in history succeeded not through sophisticated hacking, but through insider access and political instability.

Britain’s Most Famous Vault Robberies

Several of the world’s most notorious heists took place in the United Kingdom.

The 1987 Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery in London saw Italian criminal Valerio Viccei and accomplices steal an estimated $97 million worth of cash, jewellery and valuables after gaining access to safety deposit vaults by posing as customers.

Meanwhile, the 2006 Securitas depot robbery in Kent became Britain’s largest cash theft, with armed criminals stealing approximately £53 million, equivalent to around $83 million at the time. Many of those involved were later arrested, though part of the money was never recovered.

Brazil’s Underground Bank Burglary

In Brazil, the 2005 Banco Central burglary became famous for the method used rather than sheer violence.

A criminal gang spent months digging a tunnel beneath the city of Fortaleza before stealing roughly $71.6 million from the Central Bank of Brazil.

Authorities later described the operation as one of the most technically elaborate bank robberies ever conducted.

Northern Ireland’s Political Shadow

The 2004 Northern Bank robbery in Belfast resulted in the theft of around £26.5 million, equivalent to roughly $41 million at the time.

The robbery drew international attention amid allegations of involvement by paramilitary groups linked to the Irish republican movement, claims that were politically sensitive during Northern Ireland’s peace process.

The latest example came in 2026, when Polish YouTube collective ŁatwoGang reportedly raised an extraordinary $68.9 million in just nine days , setting a new benchmark for creator-led fundraising events.

The figure eclipses previous records set by France’s ZEvent, one of Europe’s most successful charity streaming marathons, and reflects the growing influence of digital creators in mobilising global audiences.

French livestream charity event ZEvent has become one of the most recognised fundraising initiatives in the online creator economy.

Founded by French streamers Adrien “ZeratoR” Nougaret and Alexandre “Dach” Dachary, the event brings together dozens of creators annually to raise money for humanitarian and environmental causes.

According to organisers and reporting from BBC News , the 2021 edition raised more than €10 million for Action Against Hunger, becoming one of the largest charity streaming campaigns ever recorded at the time. Subsequent editions continued to grow rapidly, with the 2025 event reportedly generating nearly $19 million within three days.

The event’s success has highlighted the power of livestream communities to convert audience engagement directly into donations at unprecedented speed.

In the United States, creators have also begun testing the limits of online fundraising.

A 2025 livestream collaboration involving YouTube creator MrBeast and streamer Adin Ross reportedly generated approximately $12 million in just 18 hours, demonstrating how major internet personalities can attract audiences comparable to large broadcast events.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is widely recognised for blending philanthropy with entertainment content and has built one of the world ’s largest YouTube audiences, with hundreds of millions of subscribers across platforms, according to Forbes.

Platforms such as Twitch, YouTube and Kick are increasingly functioning as large-scale fundraising infrastructure rather than simply entertainment services.

Data from Streams Charts shows charity livestreams consistently rank among the highest-engagement online events globally, often attracting millions of cumulative viewing hours and international participation.

Industry analysts say the format succeeds because livestreaming combines entertainment, direct audience interaction and real-time donation tracking, creating a sense of collective participation difficult to replicate through traditional fundraising methods.

Charity streaming first gained traction through gaming communities in the late 2010s, but has since expanded far beyond esports audiences.

One of the earliest large-scale examples came from Twitch streamer DrLupo, who raised nearly $900,000 in 24 hours in 2019 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Over five years, his fundraising efforts surpassed $10 million, according to campaign records and Twitch reporting.

Since then, creator-led charity events have broadened to include music, politics, lifestyle content and global humanitarian campaigns.

“We took 20 DNA samples and actually we have found more than 11 now, we’ve found 17 fathers and we’re in the process of taking them to court,” McLeod said on the Global South Conversation.

“All of the fathers we found have been either British Army soldiers or Commonwealth soldiers attached to the British Army training unit for a period of time,” he added.

Abuse goes beyond peacekeepers

The revelations are part of a wider effort using commercial DNA databases and forensic mapping to trace the biological fathers of children born from alleged sexual abuse, exploitation, and sex tourism involving foreign workers deployed in developing countries.

McLeod, who worked for both the UN and the Red Cross, said the problem stretches far beyond peacekeeping soldiers.

“It’s not just peacekeeping soldiers. It’s UN civilian staff as well. I saw how many women and children in the developing world have been abused by UN staff, NGO staff, mainly expatriates,” he said.

He added that abuses linked to international missions have persisted for decades in countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“The food-for-sex scandals we saw in the early 2000s in Liberia and Sierra Leone saw people escaping horrible wars… going to refugee camps but not being allowed in unless they handed over sexual favours,” he said.

DNA databases 

McLeod said his organisation developed a process that isolates the father’s DNA from a child born through abuse and compares it to international genealogy databases such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA.

“We can take DNA from the child that is born from abuse, isolate the father’s side of the DNA, compare that to international databases… triangulate backwards till we find the father, then knock on his door,” he explained.

Kenya and the Philippines cases reveal global pattern

He said the process has been successful in the Philippines, where investigators have reportedly identified about 35 fathers from approximately 40 DNA samples taken from children abandoned by sex tourists.

“We’ve found about 35 fathers. But it’s not just finding the fathers. You’ve got to take these fathers to courts in their home jurisdiction. Every child has the right to know who their father is. Every child has the right to the citizenship that derives from who their parents are,” he told Ismail Akwei.

Accountability from governments and the UN

Professor Andrew McLeod cited warnings from law enforcement agencies that predators increasingly target developing countries through aid and humanitarian work.

“No large organisation can say they didn’t know this happens. This has been going on for 30 or 40 years. The predators now go to the developing world,” McLeod claimed.

While he acknowledged that not every case can prove rape or coercion, he argued that DNA evidence at least establishes biological responsibility and forces alleged fathers to answer for abandoned children.

About 80 percent of the men contacted by the organisation eventually accepted responsibility, McLeod revealed.

He called for mandatory DNA collection for all male peacekeepers, aid workers, and soldiers before deployment overseas and added that perpetrators may eventually be identified decades later, even after death.

Limitations of DNA databases

He pointed to growing concerns involving foreign workers from other countries, including reports of Chinese workers allegedly abandoning children in African countries such as Malawi, Ghana, and Zimbabwe.

Although current DNA databases are more effective in tracing Western nationals because of larger participation in commercial ancestry platforms, McLeod believes future technological developments will widen the scope globally.

Watch the full interview attached to this story.