12th July 1987-UK: £60 million. Valerio Viccei migrated to the UK from Italy in 1986, where he was wanted for over 50 armed robberies. He decided to continue his successful trade in his new homeland, where he and an accomplice entered the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre and asked to rent a Safe Deposit Box. After being led into the vault, they subdued the manager and the guards. Valerio hung a sign outside stating that the Deposit was temporarily closed to deter more customers, and then went about letting in more accomplices. The gang then plundered the safe deposit boxes at will and netted an estimated £60 million, which translates approximately into a whopping $174 million in today’s money. The police were not alerted until an hour after the robbery, giving the team plenty of time to flee the scene. Valerio fled to Latin America whilst his accomplices were arrested, then foolishly returned to England sometime later to retrieve his beloved Ferrari, where he was subsequently caught. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison. One would think that with the better part of $174 million, you would just buy another Ferrari. Or two. He was killed in 2000 while on day release in Italy, as a result of a gunfight with police.
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