No insurance for Brazil's biggest bank heist

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2005

FORTALEZA, Brazil (AFP) — The 68 million dollars stolen in a spectacular tunnel robbery in Brazil were not insured and taxpayers will probably pay the bill for the country's biggest bank heist, a central bank spokesman said.

While police stepped up the hunt for the gang, believed to number between 10 and 20, that carried out the stunning operation, the embarrassed authorities were left to count the cost.

The robbery, discovered Monday, was the second biggest bank heist in the world after a 1987 robbery in London of 72 million dollars. Police said they suspect a gang from Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo.

The 156 million reals "was not insured, because it was already in the bank's vault. That is normal procedure; we only insure money when we have to transport it,"...