Top 5 Heists That Shocked The World

Inspired by greed for money and power along with ingenuity, all great heists that have taken place in the world share one thing in common, a daring audacity of the criminal that enabled them to crack the most sophisticated and fool-proof security systems and make off with large amount of money and jewels. Moreover, when it comes to sheer planning, creativity and lunacy that go into them, few crimes can be termed as out rightly astounding.

1. Bull Semen Heist

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Not all heists or scams are done for the sake of money or jewels. In some cases, people go to great lengths get their hands on things other would not even prefer thinking in their dreams. One such unique case took place in Maryland farm where in 2005 the semen of nearly 50 bulls was stolen from the farm of Eric Fleming. The quantity of semen can be estimated from the fact that it had a monetary value of $75,000. Fleming even offered a reward for the return of semen, but no one wanted to claim responsibility of doing such a disgusting crime.

2. Bernie Madoff and Ponzi Scheme

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The Bernie Madoff investment scandal that broke in the year 2008 resulted in a scam of estimated $50 billion. Questions regarding his firm had been raised as early as 1999, but even at the time of his arrest his firm was the sixth-largest in the country. Even though he was running a fraudulent investment from the very beginning, he was able to fool all other players in the hedge fund industry. In 1992 Madoff was termed as the bane of New York Stock Exchange.

3. Agricultural Bank of China

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The 2007 Agricultural Bank of China robbery that resulted in the theft of 51 million Yuan is considered as the biggest robbery in Chinese history. The scheme started with bank manager, Ren Xiaofeng, stole 200,000 Yuan from the bank vault. His intent was to buy lottery tickets from the money and win a jackpot before the money is reported missing. Amazingly, his plan worked. He was able to make big and with the huge profit he was easily able to return the money. But the story did not end here. With the help of another manager he stole 33 million Yuan next year and then another 18 million. All this money was yet again squandered on buying lottery tickets. However, this time their gamble did not prove as per expectations and both of them were arrested.

Nonetheless, considering the colorful characters and criminal masterminds behind these heists, it’s not difficult to understand as to why they remain a constant subjection of fascination and even inspiration for some.