Overview
- North Rhine–Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said police and prosecutors acted because required information was not provided, leading to a search of the Gelsenkirchen-Buer branch.
- The January 6 action sought data carriers and necessary customer records that investigators said had not yet been made available.
- Reul said the perpetrators probably knew what they were looking for and how to get it, while other reporting cites a non-activated vault alarm and use of an eight-digit code to reach an archive room.
- Investigators believe the burglars drilled from the archive into the vault with heavy specialist equipment, plundering nearly all of about 3,250 safe-deposit boxes.
- The bank says it is supporting authorities but noted that compiling video recordings and lists has taken time, as investigators also examine how barriers like a roller gate may have been bypassed.