Pensioner security guard on duty during €38m bank raid

A pensioner was on security duty at the time the Northern Bank was robbed of £26.5m (€38m), it emerged tonight.

He had been monitoring CCTV screens as the vaults were cleared by two members of staff whose families were being held hostages.

The guard is understood to have been employed by Maybin, an outside security agency hired to protect the Northern Bank’s cash distribution centre.

New details emerged as bank chiefs admitted their security arrangements were not as effective as they should have been, and confirmed a major review was underway following the raid, which police chiefs have blamed on the IRA.

It is believed to involve a study of the CCTV and swipe card systems, as well as the possibility of relocating the distribution centre from its current Belfast city centre base.

Colin Dundas, head of business banking at the bank said: “Our whole security process will be looked at, as part of a review. We have already taken some learnings out of that and made some changes. There’s no question that given the scale of the robbery it wasn’t effective on the day.”

Mr Dundas confirmed Maybin staff were used to guard the bank after a study was carried out to check they had the expertise needed.

No one from the firm is under any suspicion for one of the world’s biggest ever bank heists.

Security sources disclosed, however, that a veteran Maybin guard who once worked for the bank, was on duty on the night supervisor Chris Ward and assistant manager Kevin McMullan were ordered to smuggle out boxes of cash under rubbish piles while their terrified families were held.

“The review we are carrying out will take in all aspects, our internal procedures, and indeed the procedures of the outsourced supplier,” said Mr Duncan. “But I wouldn’t want to pre-empt the outcome of that. At the time of the outsourced contract that would have been a key assessment in terms of the risk assessment of that supply.

“Many of the people who have been performing those duties under ourselves have transferred across to Maybin.”

The bank boss accepted arrangements had been ineffective, but did not go into the reasons why.

“Whether it was inadequate or whether certain aspects of it weren’t carried out as it should have been is still open to review,” he said.

“There are certain aspects of it that are very clear, the human element of the control system broke down. I don’t think we can level any criticism why that broke down at individuals.

“When you are in a situation where they literally have a gun to their head and their families lives are threatened you can understand how that human control system breaks down.”

“Part of the review we are undertaking is the movement of people in and out, the movement of the cash in and out, the movement of waste paper in an out.

Challenged over the CCTV and swipe systems installed at the bank, Mr Dundas said the probe would try to establish whether procedures could have been better or else carried out as they were designed.

“It may be a mix of the two. Whatever it takes, costs won’t be the issue, we will put in place and we have already made changes to make sure nothing on this scale could ever happen again.”

No reward was offered because police investigating the December 20 raid advised the bank against it, Mr Dundas disclosed.

Even though he accepted there was always the risk of another robbery, he insisted nothing as huge could happen again.

“I’m confident with the changes we have made already, something on this scale could not happen again.”

Since the theft, bank chiefs have decided to relocate all staff at the centre and withdraw nearly its entire series of notes.

Both processes are underway and are expected to take months to complete.

Mr Dundas also confirmed the bank has not ruled out the possibility of moving its cash distribution base to another location.

“In the overall process there is the potential to look at a complete movement of the centre,” he said.

“The issue for us is always to balance the risk management with a service to out customers.”