13 people arrested for robbery at Melli Bank; "Most of the stolen property" returned

On Friday, June 10, Fars News Agency reported, citing the Tehran police chief, that the thieves of the National Bank's safety deposit box at the University branch had been arrested.

Hossein Rahimi, Tehran Police Commander, claimed in an interview with Iranian Broadcasting Corporation (IRCC) on Friday that "all the thieves and their associates" had been identified and arrested in "less than 48 hours."

According to Mr. Rahimi, "Most of the stolen property from the safety deposit boxes has also been returned."

According to Tasnim News Agency, a number of thieves have been arrested in Turkey.

The National Bank of Iran confirmed in a statement on Monday, June 6, that the bank's university branch in Tehran had been robbed of its deposit boxes during the three-day official holiday last week.

A day later, the bank announced in a new statement released on Tuesday that "168" safe deposit boxes at the branch had been damaged by thieves, and that the previously reported figure of 1,000 was incorrect.

The Tehran police commander says the thieves were arrested on Wednesday.

An hour later, ISNA news agency reported, citing the Tehran prosecutor, that 13 people had been arrested on charges of bank robbery, "ten of them inside the country and three abroad."

According to Ali Salehi, Tehran prosecutor, "large amounts of stolen property were discovered at Imam Khomeini Airport in a car provided by the defendants, and some quantities were discovered in Tehran."

However, news agencies in Iran are reporting that "most of the stolen property" has been returned after the thieves were arrested, even though it was previously announced that the bank cannot know the exact amount of stolen property and documents, and that only the owners of the property are aware of this.

In this context, the secretary of the Iranian Banking Association, referring to the lack of insurance for safes, said: "The bank can only pay for damages to these safes if the customer can prove how much goods or objects they had in the safe."

Tasnim also wrote on Friday: "Some of these thieves had fled to a neighboring country after the robbery, but were arrested and returned to the country through the efforts of the police."

The Iranian Broadcasting Corporation (IBRC) published more details about the robbery on Monday, writing: "During the recent holiday [the anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini], a number of thieves entered the Mumtaz Melli Bank branch located on Enghelab Street across from Tehran University from a nearby building and opened about 250 safety deposit boxes and stole the property inside them."

According to the report, the thieves were familiar with the bank's environment and "stole the video recording device with them," which is why "accurate statistics and information about this robbery, such as how many thieves there were or how they were able to penetrate the bank's system, are currently unavailable."

But one thing that caught the attention of users on social media was the short distance between this branch and a police station, as well as the presidential office in Tehran, which should increase the security of this location.

Source: Radio Farda