Fond of cash, Germans fret over exploding ATMs, suspect neighbouring Dutch

Ratingen (Germany): Germans in Ratingen town have a new problem to deal with – exploding ATM machines. Two cash-dispensing machines got blown up on the same morning recently at branches of Santander and Deutsche Bank.

The machines were located across the street from each other close to the Duesseldorf suburb’s main square.

What is worrying the citizens is that thieves are blowing ATMs up at the rate of more than one a day. The attacks have gone up by more than 40% since 2019, according to the German interior ministry, and investigators say two factors are driving the increase.

Germany, which boasts of being Europe’s largest economy has 53,000 ATM machines, a much high number that reflects Germans’ preference for cash rather than bank debit or credit cards. The country also boasts of an extensive network of highways, or Autobahns, on much of which no speed limit is enforced.

Ratingen is just 70 km from the Dutch border, and it is being suspected that criminal gangs from the Netherlands are responsible for blowing up the machines. Whenever an explosion takes place, building facades crumble, money cartridges crack open and there are flying shards of glass everywhere.

Anti-social elements looted nearly 20 million euros ($22.1 million) in 2021, when 392 ATM explosions were recorded, a tally that rose to 496 in 2022. Police in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Ratingen is located and which has borne the maximum brunt of the attacks, have recorded 47 such incidents so far in 2023, a number higher than last year’s incidents.

Dutch culprits?

Significantly, the frequency of ATM attacks is falling in the Netherlands, partly due to security measures in place such as glue that makes blocks of cash inside ATMs unusable, Dutch police say.

So Dutch cash machine robbers are crossing the border and according to the German police, have carried out between 70% to 80% of attacks in Germany since 2018.

The Dutch police, on the other hand suspect around 500 men are responsible, working in changing groups as new recruits replace those who get nabbed by the police.

In Frankfurt this week, prosecutors charged six Dutch citizens suspected of causing explosions, theft and property damage.

Ratingen police are also investigating a possible Dutch connection in the twin raids, after they identified a small vehicle that sped from the scene to a nearby Autobahn.

In Germany, roughly 60% of everyday purchases are paid in cash, according to a study that found Germans, on average, withdrew more than 6,600 euros annually chiefly from cash machines.

Germany is also working with officials in Belgium and France and at Europol to combat the cash machine crime wave. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser this week urged banks to step up safety measures for ATMs.

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