Today in History - March 18: With a note from his father, he conducted the biggest bank heist of all time
The son of a notorious dictator carried out the biggest bank heist of all time on March 18, 2003.
Saddam Hussein's son Qusay and an assistant arrived at the Central Bank of Iraq at 4am that morning with a note from the leader.
The handwritten letter from the dictator authorised Qusay to take as much money as he wanted from the bank.
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Qusay Hussein was being groomed to succeed his father. Supplied
Three tractor-trailers were brought in to take $900 million in American cash - all $100 notes, as well as tens of millions worth in euros.
In two hours the bank was completely stripped of its money, with the help of staff too terrified to resist.
It was estimated the cash taken by Qusay was about a quarter of Iraq's cash reserves.
Hours after the brazen theft, the US began its bombing campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Qusay as well as his father soon vanished as American troops invaded the country.
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Saddam Hussein governed Iraq with an iron fist. Adobe Stock
But Qusay and his brother Uday would be killed after a firefight with US paratroopers in July that year.
While Qusay was behind an immense bank robbery, he was considered the reliable son of the dictator.
Qusay was viewed as the heir apparent and was being groomed as his replacement by his father.
He was viewed as quiet and calculating, in contrast to Uday who was seen as erratic and sadistic.
Much of the cash has since been recovered but an estimated US$132 million was not found.
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Saddam Hussein with his family, including Qusay (top right). Nine Archives
It is feared much of it went towards financing terrorism.
The biggest cash theft of all time also took place in Iraq, but the details remain scant.
What is known is that $6 billion sent from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to Iraq later vanished without a trace.
The money was seized wealth being returned to Iraq following the ousting of Hussein.
But after the cash was flown into the country, it quickly became unaccounted for.
For more from our Today in History archive, click here
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