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Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen Starts Returning Documents After Vault Heist

The move signals a first step in addressing losses that far exceed standard safe‑deposit insurance.

Overview

  • The bank, which began handing back name‑clear papers on Friday, is sorting about 50,000 items left in the ransacked vault after investigators released them in late April.
  • Following Thursday’s street protest in Gelsenkirchen‑Buer, hundreds of safe‑deposit holders pressed for full compensation and called for leadership changes at the bank.
  • In a WDR radio interview, CEO Michael Klotz said the bank is also a victim, denied negligence, and urged customers to submit detailed inventory lists, with about 2,100 received so far.
  • Police say burglars drilled through a wall over the 2025 Christmas period, opened nearly all of roughly 3,100 boxes, and remain unidentified, with losses likely in the multi‑tens of millions of euros or higher.
  • With payouts capped at €10,300 per box under standard policies, several customers have sued in Essen, with the first civil hearings scheduled for June.