The Dar Es Salaam Bank heist

Few details about the 2007 robbery at Dar Es Salaam Bank, a private financial institution in Baghdad, Iraq, are known to this day. Several bank guards allegedly orchestrated the theft. The government suspected the robbers also had contacts within local police and militias, allowing them to pass through Baghdad's numerous checkpoints undetected.

The robbery of $282 million from a private financial institution, Dar Es Salaam Bank, raised more questions than it answered, and officials remained tight-lipped about the crime. Local police said two guards planned the robbery, but an Interior Ministry official said three guards were involved.

Both confirmed that the money stolen was in US dollars, not Iraqi dinars. It was unclear why the bank had that much money in dollars on hand, or how the robbers were able to move such a large sum without being discovered. Several officials speculated that the robbers were linked to militias because it would be difficult for them to move without being searched at numerous checkpoints throughout Baghdad.

Stolen: $282 million