View source for Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery

{{Short description|Robbery}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}
{{moresources|date=September 2016}}

The '''Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery''' took place on 12 July 1987 in Cheval Place, [[Knightsbridge]], England, part of the [[City of Westminster]] in London. This robbery, the [[Banco Central burglary at Fortaleza]], and the $900 million stolen from the [[Central Bank of Iraq]] in 2003 are said to be the largest bank robberies in history.

The robbery was led by Valerio Viccei (1955–2000), a lawyer's son who arrived in London in 1986 from his native Italy, where he was wanted for 50 armed robberies. Once in London, he quickly resumed his robbery career to fund his playboy lifestyle. On this occasion he secured inside help, obtaining the help of the managing director of the centre, Parvez Latif, a cocaine user, who was heavily in debt.{{cn|date=January 2018}}

On the day of the robbery, two men entered the [[Knightsbridge]] Safe Deposit Centre and requested to rent a [[safe deposit box]]. After being shown into the [[bank vault|vault]], they drew handguns and subdued the manager and security guards. The thieves then hung a sign on the street-level door explaining that the Safe Deposit Centre was temporarily closed, whilst letting in further accomplices. They broke open many of the safe deposit boxes and left with a hoard estimated to be worth [[Pound sterling|£]]60 million<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3723839.stm|title=Mention of raid in the BBC archive - "World's biggest robberies" panel|work=BBC News|date=18 May 2004}}</ref> (equivalent to roughly US[[Dollar|$]]98 million at the 1987 exchange rate).

One hour after the robbers departed, the shift changed and the new staff discovered the crime and alerted the police. Police [[forensic]] investigators recovered a bloody [[fingerprint]] that was traced to Valerio Viccei. After a period of [[surveillance]], several of his accomplices were arrested during a series of coordinated raids on 12 August 1987 and later were convicted of the crime. Viccei, however, fled to Latin America for some time. Later, when he returned to England to retrieve and ship his [[Ferrari Testarossa]] to Latin America, police arrested him.{{cn|date=January 2020}}

Viccei was sentenced to 22 years, serving his sentence in [[Parkhurst Prison]] on the [[Isle of Wight]]. While serving his sentence there, he forged a friendship with Dick Leach, a [[Flying Squad]] officer who led his arrest. They regularly wrote letters to each other, referring to themselves as [[Fred Basset|Fred]] (Leach) and [[Garfield]] or The Wolf (Viccei).{{cn|date=January 2020}}

In 1992, he was deported to Italy to serve the rest of his sentence. He was incarcerated in an open jail in [[Pescara]], where he was allowed to live a lifestyle he was already accustomed to, as well as running a translation company.<ref name="Independent">[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/apr/20/features11.g2 Wolf's last stand], ''The Guardian'', 20 April 2000.</ref> 

On 19 April 2000, during day release from prison, a gunfight broke out between Viccei, an accomplice, and the police, resulting in Viccei's death.<ref name="Independent"/> Two autobiographies of Viccei's life have been published, titled ''Too Fast to Live'' (1992) and ''Live by the Gun, Die by the Gun'' (published posthumously in 2004).{{cn|date=January 2017}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Banks}}
*[[List of bank robbers and robberies]]
*[[List of heists in the United Kingdom]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord missing|London}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery}}
[[Category:1987 crimes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1987 in London]]
[[Category:1980s crimes in London]]
[[Category:Bank robberies in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1980s in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Crime in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Robberies in London]]
[[Category:Knightsbridge]]
[[Category:July 1987 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in London]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1987]]