Authorities Still Can't Figure Out The Way These People Got Away With Stealing So Much Money

The insatiable lust for money, jewelry, and other forms of wealth has existed as long as human history itself. After all, it's for this reason that law enforcement has existed for hundreds of years! And while ancient and modern police forces have done a stellar job at bringing notorious criminals to justice, there are a handful of grand-scale heists that law enforcement officials were never able to solve. In fact, some of the biggest heists ever pulled are mysteries to this day...

Identity, Unknown

In 1971, a man known only by the alias "D.B. Cooper" hijacked a Boeing 727 and stole $200,000 before leaping out the plane mid-flight. While he's thought to have descended somewhere between Portland and Seattle, the FBI was never able to track him down. Still, this case remains active at the Bureau to this day, with over 60 volumes of theories accumulating over the years.

Largest Theft Of Funds In National History

As Iraq was adjusting to its post-Saddam era, over $6 billion of the US's war effort funds was stolen. What was most peculiar, however, was the fact that the American Special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, was unable to account for the missing funds. It's almost as if the money vanished into thin air.

The Great Mining Robbery

Between 2010 and 2012, anonymous shell companies purchased mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a 16th of their actual price, only to resell them at full value. As a result of siphoning off money that should have gone to the state, the DRC lost at least US$1.36 billion in revenue from these deals. That was nearly double the country's annual health and education budget at the time!

The Presidential Betrayal

While many presidents enter office with the goal of building their nation's future, former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was not one of those leaders. Through a combination of bribes, government loans, embezzlement, and direct theft, Marcos stole between US$5 billion and US$10 billion in state funds. After being toppled by widespread protests, Marcos fled and died in Hawaii in 1989. So far, $4 billion has been recovered.