China's Largest Bank Robbery

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by tpksstories

by tpksstories

The Agricultural Bank of Chinarobbery was the embezzlement of nearly 51 million yuan (c. US$6.7million) from the Handan branch of the Agricultural Bank of China(ABC) in Hebei province between March 16 and April 14, 2007.Perpetrated by two vault managers employed at the branch, it is thelargest bank robbery in China's history.

The idea for the heist had begun whenone of the managers, Ren Xiaofeng, stole 200,000 yuan (c. US$26,000)in October 2006 with the complicity of two security guards, ZhaoXuenan and Zhang Qiang. Ren then purchased tickets for the Chineselottery, with the intention of winning a sufficiently large prizethat he could return the missing funds before their absence wasnoted, and still have money left over for himself. Despite the odds,Ren was successful, and he was able to return the 200,000 to thevault.

Emboldened by his initial success, Renjoined forces with another manager, Ma Xiangjing, to perpetrate thesame crime on a far larger scale. During March and April 2007, thetwo stole 32.96 million yuan (c. US$4.3 million), and spent almostthe entire amount—31.25 million—on lottery tickets. This timegood fortune was not on their side. In desperation, they stole sixcash boxes containing a further 18 million yuan (c. US$2.3 million)on April 14, spending 14 million in a single day in an effort torecover their losses. Despite Handan reporting record lottery ticketsales, the two recouped only 98,000 yuan (c. US$12,700).

On April 16, ABC branch managersdiscovered the missing money and notified the police. Withinsufficient funds to cover the losses, Ren and Ma used their meagerwinnings to buy fake IDs and flee. This prompted an extensivemanhunt, with the Public Security Ministry placing the two men ontheir "Most Wanted" list. Ma was arrested inBeijing on April 18, and Ren was found a day later in Lianyungang, acoastal town in Jiangsu Province.

Ren and Ma were charged withembezzlement, while Zhao and Zhang, the security guards, were chargedwith misappropriating public funds. A fifth man, Song Changhai, wasalso prosecuted for sheltering a criminal, Ma, while he was on therun. The three accomplices were all given sentences of up to fiveyears in prison, while the two managers were sentenced to death. Alandlord, a cab driver, and a car saleswoman in Lianyungang shared a200,000 yuan reward for assisting police to arrest Ren, while inHandan five employees of the bank were fired. Only 5.5 million yuanwas ever recovered by the police, with the remainder squandered bythe perpetrators' gambling.

Both Ren and Ma were executed in Hebeiprovince on April 1, 2008.