In January 1976, war-torn Beirut became the scene of what is widely considered **the largest and most mysterious bank robbery in history**. The target? The British Bank of the Middle East (BBME), located in **Beirut’s famed Bank Street**, near the parliament and the central clock square.
The robbery took place amid the chaos of the Lebanese Civil War. The bank had been evacuated due to **heavy mortar shelling**, leaving it vulnerable. On **January 20, 1976**, a heavily armed group of militants stormed the bank, allegedly using **Israeli-made weapons**, M16 rifles, grenades, and explosives.
Over the next **four days**, the assailants **broke into the bank’s heavily fortified vault**, even using explosives to penetrate a wall shared with the adjacent Saint Louis Cathedral. Some reports suggest that the perpetrators brought in **Corsican mafia specialists** to crack the vault — possibly as a decoy to obscure the true masterminds.
The thieves remained inside for **up to six days**, looting the vault of **hundreds of millions worth of cash (in pounds and dollars), gold bullion, diamonds, securities, and confidential British documents**. They then vanished **without a trace**, reportedly using multiple vehicles to transport their loot.
Estimates of the stolen amount vary between **\$250 million to \$600 million (adjusted to 2024 values)**. No suspects were ever arrested, and **none of the stolen assets were recovered**.
What makes the case even more mysterious is the alleged theft of **classified British documents** tied to the **funding of militias during the Lebanese Civil War**. Theories about who orchestrated the operation range from **Israeli Mossad, Sicilian Mafia, and local militias** to even **British special forces**, supposedly acting to recover sensitive files.
Other theories claim the heist was a **cover for a covert operation to relocate the bank's financial assets from Beirut to London**.
Decades later, the **Guinness World Records** still lists it as the **largest bank robbery in history**, and experts believe that **the truth may never be revealed**, especially as many involved are presumed dead, and those still alive have every reason to remain silent.
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