Spectacular tunnel robbery: This is how the Berlin bank robbers escaped!

Spectacular tunnel robbery: This is how the Berlin bank robbers escaped!

On June 27, 1995, one of the most spectacular bank robberies in German history took place in Berlin-Zehlendorf. Heavily armed hostage takers stormed a Commerzbank branch at 10:25 a.m. and took a total of 16 hostages. Their main goal was to extort a ransom of 17 million German marks. The situation developed quickly and the police could do nothing but surround the area and resort to negotiations, which were only intended to buy time. The perpetrators also demanded a helicopter and a getaway car. During the course of the negotiation, after more than 18 hours, contact with the hostage takers was lost - at 3:43 a.m. the SEK finally stormed the bank. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but the perpetrators had already escaped through a specially dug tunnel - an escape story that is hard to imagine. The robbers had meanwhile stolen the considerable sum of over 16 million marks, which corresponds to around 8.2 million euros, while the police had paid 5.62 million marks for the release of the hostages. A few weeks later, six of the eleven suspected perpetrators were finally caught and the investigation dragged on for months. Over 5 million marks of the loot were seized.

But what was special about this attack was not only the enormous loot, but also the criminals' sophisticated escape strategy. The tunnel construction, which began in March 1994 in a rented garage on Matterhornstrasse, had proven to be extremely effective. Around 20 meters long and one meter in diameter, it led directly to the bank via the sewer. It is hard to believe that such an operation went undetected and that the perpetrators were so well prepared. The perpetrators consisted of three Syrians, a Lebanese, an Italian and a German, which underlines the complexity and multiculturalism of the gang, which had up to eleven members.

The events after the attack

Following the attack, the main perpetrator, Moutaz Al Barazi, also known as “Tunnel Toni,” was arrested two weeks later. Law enforcement authorities have been able to trace many of those involved and their sentences range from six to 13 years in prison. An aider of Al Barazi, who was arrested in Sweden in 2008, will also continue to be extradited to Germany as part of the closer investigation. Such crime stories often find their way into the media and have been repeatedly explored through documentaries and films. Whether ARD or RTL, everyone treated the attack in their own way; ARD broadcast a documentary about it in 2007 and RTL produced a film in 1996.

A chapter in criminal history

The historiography surrounding this attack and the successful arrests goes far beyond the direct financial damage. The case was reminiscent of the 1929 bank robbery by the Sass brothers, in which two million Reichsmarks were stolen. For historical reasons, it is also interesting to mention that this attack was covered in the true crime series XY solved on June 11, 2025 by ZDF, which shows the explosiveness of the topic even today.

On June 27th, however, it's not just yesterday's crime stories that are important. Several well-known personalities were also born on this day, including Nico Rosberg and Tobey Maguire, whose successes in their respective fields are undisputed. It becomes even more evident that this day in history has numerous facets - from dramatic criminal cases to personal success stories.

Interested readers can read the full story of the attack and its actors in other reports, such as the Bietigheimer Zeitung, [WDR]. June 27th remains a memorable date not only for crime stories, but also for the personal anniversaries of the day.