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Helicopter heist netted 39 million kronor: report

The spectacular helicopter heist in Västberga in southern Stockholm last autumn netted some 39 million kronor ($5.4 million), according to a police source.

Published: 22 April 2010 06:26 CEST

Helicopter heist netted 39 million kronor: report

There had been speculation of an even greater sum of money, with 70 million kronor named, but investigators have ruled out the sum which was based on the offer of a reward from security firm G4S of 7 million kronor – 10 percent being the accepted reward sum.

The prosecutor in the case has confirmed to news agency TT that the robbers were forced to leave large amounts of cash behind as they were short on time and their helicopter was only able to carry the smaller amount.

Prosecutor Leif Görts, one of two working on the case, was unwilling to confirm the reports of the amount of cash seized.

“It could harm the investigation,” Görts told TT.

A further man has been arrested in connection with involvement in the audacious heist in September 2009. The 36-year-old is suspected of aiding and abetting an aggravated robbery and aggravated money-laundering.

According to the Aftonbladet daily, the man had responsibility for processing some of the money seized. He denies the offence.

A further nine people are in custody on suspicion of involvement in the robbery.

The Västberga cash depot was hit in the early hours of Wednesday September 23rd when several powerful explosions were heard.

A helicopter landed on the roof of the depot, managed by the G4S security firm, and men entered the building to seize a large quantity of cash. The robbers then made their escape in the helicopter with the police looking on.

Police helicopters had meanwhile been grounded due to a bomb scare – the gang had left a bag with the word BOMB inscribed on the side at the helicopter station on Värmdö in eastern Stockholm.

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Is Denmark's government about to send you an enormous cheque?

The government wants to put money in the hands of citizens. Photo: Bax Lindhardt/SP/Ritzau Scanpix

The Red Green Alliance is pushing for the government to mail out 10,000 kroner (€1,341) tax-free cheques to all earning less than 32,000 kroner (€4,292) a month.

The political parties are set later this week to begin negotiating the so-called 'summer package', a stimulus package designed to encourage people in Denmark to spend more money in local businesses, hotels and cultural institutions during their summer staycations.

“There is not much you can say against this, and that is why it is an incredibly important part of our deliberations,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told DR on Tuesday evening. .

“We think it is natural that when we discuss the end of the aid packages, that we also discuss the long-term economy. For example, it could also be holiday money.”

The 100bn kroner in 'frozen holiday money' exists because Denmark has changed the way people build up holiday allowances as they work. Under the old scheme, you built up the allowance over a year and could only take it after the following May. Under the new one, you earn 2.08 days of holiday a month, which can be used immediately.

Because people in Denmark would have earned double holiday money during the transition between the two systems, the government decided to only let them access the so-called 'frozen money' on retirement.

As well as seeing the sense of releasing the holiday money, Frederiksen on Tuesday said she also understood some of the advantages of 'helicopter money' payments, which can channel money to those most likely to spend it.

“That's something I have a great deal of sympathy for, and I can see that many economists support helicopter money,” she said, referring to the Red Green Alliance's proposal.

“It is reminiscent of the discussion we are having right now on holiday money. But we are going to be the boring party and point out that there is an economy we need to take care of on the other side of the crisis as well.”

The government hopes to carry out political discussions over the summer package with other parties at the end of this week.

The Danish People's Party, the Conservative Party, the New Right, and the Liberal Alliance are pushing to have the holiday money paid out ahead of the summer holiday as part of a stimulus package.

The Confederation of Danish Employers and the Danish Trade Union Confederation also believe that the holiday money should be paid out.

And even Torben M. Andersen, the Aarhus University economics professor who chairs the government's economics expert group, supports the idea.

“It will trigger such large payments to the citizen that it can probably do the work and get enough demand and consumption started in a first round of economic recovery,” he told the Politiken newspaper.

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