Authorities crack down on rising trend of explosive ATM robberies in Europe

In an article published by CNN, the authorities from Germany, France, and the Netherlands recently arrested three members of a criminal network responsible for a series of explosive attacks on ATMs in a significant crackdown on organised crime across Europe.

In the early hours of March 23, 2023, residents of the German town of Kronberg were jolted awake by multiple explosions. Criminals had detonated an ATM situated beneath a residential building in the town center. The blast caused significant damage to the structure and necessitated the evacuation of its residents. Local media reported that witnesses saw individuals in dark clothing fleeing in a black car toward a nearby highway.

During the robbery, the thieves made off with 130,000 euros in cash and inflicted approximately half a million euros in collateral damage, according to a report from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). Instead of orchestrating dramatic and dangerous bank heists, criminal groups in Europe have shifted their focus to ATMs, viewing them as easier and less conspicuous targets. 

In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, thieves have been detonating ATMs at a rate exceeding one per day in recent years. Given that cash remains a common payment method in the country, these thefts can be highly profitable, often netting criminals hundreds of thousands of euros in a single incident. 

Europol has responded by intensifying efforts to combat these robberies, launching extensive cross-border operations to dismantle the organized criminal networks responsible for them. Earlier this month, authorities from Germany, France, and the Netherlands apprehended three members of a criminal network involved in explosive attacks on cash machines, as reported by Europol. The detainees are believed to have stolen millions of euros and caused an equivalent amount in property damage between 2022 and 2024. 

According to Europol, the criminal group used locations in France as safe havens and relied on getaway cars rented from a French rental agency. The arrests were part of a larger operation by investigators from the three countries, which included searches of car rental companies linked to vehicles used in the crimes during a coordinated “action day.”

By Naila Huseynova