Making it the first such bank heist, two Russians stole NT$70 million (US$2.17 million) worth of cash from First Commercial Bank’s automatic teller machines (ATM) in Taiwan and managed to leave the country. The suspects had installed malware to trigger automatic cash disbursement on 34 First Bank ATMs in Taipei and Taichung. A Taiwanese accomplice is believed to be involved and is still at large, the police said.
The suspects extracted cash without using any bankcards or inappropriately operating the machines. The police, citing video footage and other evidence, said two suspects had operated the machines while the other remained in the getaway vehicle.
The crime was only uncovered after the suspects left NT$60,000 worth of cash in a hurry after their suspicious behaviour was noticed by a customer using an ATM at a local branch. First Bank was later notified by the police of the situation and discovered a NT$6 million loss at the branch’s ATMs the next day. The Russian nationals arrived at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday, July 8, rented a vehicle and then embarked on their illegal operation. Most of the heist was carried out over the subsequent two days, before the suspects left the country on Monday, July 11.
Taiwan’s police, who are working with overseas authorities on the case, said the suspects did not make an international wire transfer during the heist. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), in the wake of the incident, said First Bank would have to shoulder all the losses and responsibility connected to the heist, and that it must conduct an internal security review to prevent such incidents from happening again. The nation’s top financial regulator also requested that First Bank beef up ATM security mechanisms within one month.
Because the money was not withdrawn from individual accounts, customers would not bear any losses, a First Bank official said. The malfunctioning machines were reportedly manufactured by Wincor Nixdorf from Germany. To prevent additional losses, First Bank has suspended the operation of 300 of its 768 ATMs nationwide. Six other state-owned banks using the same ATM model have also temporarily halted the machines’ service. Among them are Bank of Taiwan, Chang Hwa Bank and Taiwan Cooperative Bank. Up to 1,162 ATMs on the island have been affected.
