Thieves steal CHF1.5 million from ATMs in northern Switzerland since 2020

Thieves blew up and emptied almost 40 ATMs across Switzerland last year. Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Thieves who blew up and emptied cash machines in canton Aargau in northern Switzerland have stolen over CHF1.5 million ($1.68 million) from the region since 2020.

The money was taken by unknown perpetrators in twelve ATM thefts since 2020, the cantonal police said on Friday. In all, the stolen cash and total damage caused by cash machines being blown up amounted to CHF2.16 million.

Aargau is attractive to ATM thieves, according to the cantonal police. It’s close to the German border, and is a rural region where ATMs are filled up occasionally but with large amounts of cash for reasons of efficiency, it said.

The thefts are committed by foreign organised crime gangs, with groups generally acting independently of each other, police commander Michael Leupold explained.

They come from Romania, Moldova and the Netherlands, mostly via Germany. The police said they used explosives, homemade laboratory equipment and occasionally explosive gases to blow up the cash machines.

Six ATMs were blown up in Aargau in 2020, two in 2021 and four in 2022. There were at least 38 blasts across Switzerland last year.

The first criminal conviction of an ATM explosives attacker was handed down in December 2021 when a Romanian national was sentenced to 74 months in prison.

In August 2022 a Dutch national was charged by federal prosecutors for planning to blow up cash machines in Switzerland.

The 51-year-old was stopped by customs officers last November whilst driving a stolen car into Switzerland from the Netherlands via Germany. The vehicle contained unauthorised explosives and other equipment that police believe was intended for attacks on ATMs.