By Kreshnik Kucaj
The unknown story of the first bank robbery in Albania!
Memorie.al / On the morning of Saturday, September 12, 1931, Dhimitër Maksakuli, a well-known and respected man in the city of Durrës, greeted his colleagues and left the door of the National Bank. As usual, he kept his demeanor as a person who had earned everyone’s trust. No one suspected that behind that regular face, a diabolical plan was hidden that would shake not only the city, but all of Albania. With a car waiting for him outside, Dhimitri climbed up calmly, and the vehicle with two drivers immediately headed to Tirana. It seemed like a simple trip, but this was just the beginning of a detailed plan that Dhimitri had been preparing for weeks.
In his pockets, the biggest secret of the day was hidden: 120,000 gold francs, which he had just taken from the bank vault, where he had worked for years. In Tirana, the day passed without any particular event. Dhimitri seemed to be deep in thought, spending the afternoon in various cafes. Drinking coffee and observing the people around him, he knew very well that his every move was being carefully calculated.
At 20:00 in the evening, he decided to leave the capital and return to Durrës. But his movements had not gone unnoticed. While his car was moving on the Tirana-Durrës road, a police checkpoint, already informed about the situation, stopped the vehicle. The police officers had received the news about a large lack of money at the National Bank in Durrës and, although they did not know exactly who was responsible, they felt that something suspicious was happening with this group of people who traveled in the hours of the night.
Dhimitri and all the people who were with him in the car were immediately escorted to the police station for a deeper investigation. At that time, in Durrës, the National Bank was in chaos. Bank officials had discovered a shocking shortage of 120,000 gold francs and, horrified by this huge figure, immediately reported the incident to the police. While Dhimitri was interrogated in Tirana, the police forces of Durrës went to his apartment, but found nothing to suggest his presence. A close friend of Dhimitri, who was at home at that moment, informed the police that Dhimitri had left for Tirana. This was the moment that made it clear to investigators that they were dealing with a well-thought-out scheme.
In Tirana, Dhimitri faced difficult questions from the investigators. Initially, he denied any involvement in the robbery and admitted that he had only received an amount of 14,000 gold francs. The money he claimed to have received was found on him at the time of his arrest, but the investigators were not convinced. Over time, and under the pressure of the investigation, Dhimitri began to break down. He confessed that he had received between 50 and 60 thousand francs and that the money had been shared with several other associates: Vasil Keron, his cousin Gjergj Maksakuli and another friend, Harallamb Martopulo. This confession opened a new wave of investigations and arrests.
The Spectacular Escape
On Sunday night, around 20:30, Dhimitri and his group left for Durrës, accompanied by two police cars and four armed officers. All the suspects were handcuffed and under heavy surveillance. The trip seemed to end without any major incident, but what happened next would add to the suspicions. At one point, between Durrës and Rrashbulli, Dhimitri, who was in one of the police cars, did something unimaginable. Courageously, he jumped from the car, which was moving at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour, in a desperate attempt to escape from the hands of the police and justice too.
Police officers immediately stopped the car and began searching the area, but Dhimitri seemed to have disappeared into the darkness. The police stationed in the area of Rrashbulli were immediately informed and the search was expanded, but for a moment, they failed to find Maksakul. This event shocked the authorities and the public opinion, as it had never happened in Albania, that a man did not only a spectacular theft, but also an equally spectacular escape.
The question that tormented the police was whether I jumped from the car, was it an escape plan or a suicide plan?! Different hypotheses began to circulate: some believed that he might have died from the injuries sustained while being thrown from the car, while others thought that he was healthy and had found a way to hide in the area.
After his dramatic attempt to escape, by jumping from the police car, on the road between Durrës and Rrashbulli, Dhimitër Maksakuli managed to disappear for a short time. After this escape, he began to move secretly, hoping to reach a safe place where the authorities could not catch him. After this escape, he began to move secretly, hoping to reach a safe place where the authorities could not catch him.
Injured by the blow he received in the body, while jumping from the police car, he managed to find a truck on the road to Kavaja, which transported him to Rrogozhinë. There, he attracted the attention of the district commander, who immediately recognized him and ordered his arrest. Maksakuli surrendered without resistance and was immediately sent to the cell, thus ending his failed attempt to escape justice.
The trial against Maksakul
Investigations revealed most of the stolen money. A total of 90,000 francs were found hidden, while 30,000 were still missing. The bank continued to insist that the stolen amount was 120 thousand gold francs, but the case was not closed yet. The judgment that followed was one of the most sensational of the time. In December 1932, Dhimitri Maksakuli and his associates appeared before the court, accused of stealing 133 thousand 800 francs, gold.
In court, the lawyer of the National Bank, Kristo Floqi, described the incident as one of the biggest and shameless crimes the country had ever seen. He asked for an exemplary sentence for all the accused, emphasizing that this crime shocked the whole of Albania and compromised the honesty of the bank employees.
“This is the first time, I repeat, Mr. Judges, that such a vile delict is brought before an Albanian court, that shakes the four corners of our Kingdom, that surprised and shocked the Albanian environment, for the courage and the impudence of some subsidized Albanian employees of this bank, which they robbed in the weakest and most reprehensible way, with the most savage and barbaric manner, as the managers of the bank did not even imagine that they could it was caused by people of her faith, therefore justice must play the biggest role, act strictly and mercilessly, so that it truly deserves the dignity and prestige entrusted to it by the statute and our nation. You must show all the importance of your vigor, so that their punishment will be an example, for our future generations and a good lesson, for the one who claims to be a servant and gain the trust of his superiors, who put a burden on him” .
Kristo Floqi, Lawyer of the National Bank
Many conflicting testimonies and confessions were heard at the trial. Dhimitri denied having any accomplices, but other testimonies refuted this.
Associates
In this sensational story of the first bank robbery in Albania, an intriguing element that draws attention is the fact that Dhimitër Maksakuli and his associates were all from the same area: the village of Kakodhiq in Delvina. This detail was not simply described as a coincidence by the prosecution during the trial, but was of great importance in illuminating the dynamics of the relationship between them and the way in which this sophisticated plot was created and executed.
Dhimitër Maksakuli, a man born and raised in Kakodhiq, had close ties with many of its residents. The main collaborators in this robbery – Vasil Kero, Gjergj Maksakuli and Harallamb Martopulli – were all from the same village. These close family and friendly ties had made it possible for Dhimitri to create a network of collaborators who would help him realize his bold plan. The plan envisaged that his two fellow villagers, who were waiting for him in the car outside the bank, would transport him after the robbery, to the border with Yugoslavia, where those who wanted to escape Albanian justice usually fled.
An important and intriguing part of this story was the role that Sofia Nikolla, Dhimitër Maksakuli’s Greek girlfriend, played in this great robbery. According to the testimonies and investigations made at that time, their romantic relationship was one of the factors that influenced Maksakulin in his decision to commit this daring crime.
Investigations showed that Maksakuli was deeply attached to her, and his financial expenses were great, to fulfill her whims. During the trial, it turned out that he had spent large sums of money only on gifts and to please his girlfriend. One particular case was described in the testimony, where he had paid a barber in Shkodër, 3 napoleons, for a simple shave – an expense that showed the wealth he was willing to pour, to impose his status before Sofia. Greed for money, along with a desire to please Sofia, was credited in court as the main catalyst that led him to the grand robbery of the National Bank, which had only been established a few years.
End of trial
After a long and sensational trial, Dhimitër Maksakuli and his associates faced justice for the theft of the National Bank of Albania in Durrës, which had shocked the country in 1931. The trial took place in December 1932, and ended with the decision of justice, on December 21 of the same year.
The decision for Dhimitër Maksakulin was harsh, since he was considered the main organizer of the robbery. He was sentenced to 14 months and 15 days in prison, as the main author of the theft. In addition to the prison sentence, Maksakuli was also charged with the obligation to return the rest of the money, which had not been found. Of the stolen amount of 133 thousand 800 gold francs, only 116 thousand 471 francs were found, and he was charged with the responsibility to return the remaining 17 thousand 329 francs.
As for his accomplices: Vasil Kero, Gjergj Maksakuli, and Harallamb Martopulli – who were involved in the robbery and helping Maksakuli – were sentenced to 50 days in prison each. The punishment for them was lighter, since they were considered more like secondary collaborators than main organizers. The two drivers, who had helped to transport Maksakul and the money, were described as accomplices, and not main accomplices in crime, which favored them during the trial, receiving a lighter sentence.
In his closing speech, the lawyer of the National Bank, Kristo Floqi, expressed his displeasure with the court’s decision, in the light punishment of the collaborators, stressing that they were an important part of the conspiracy and should be punished more severely. But the Durrës court, presided over by Dragodin Rodiqi, took into account the circumstances of each accused and came to the conclusion that Maksakuli was the main person who should receive the most severe punishment.
In the end, this historic trial ended with the punishment of the robbers, but the whole case was not completely closed. Dhimitri was sentenced to 14 months in prison, while his accomplices received lighter sentences. The time in detention that Dhimitri had spent, caused him to be immediately released from prison. But the enigma of the remaining lost money and his spectacular escape would remain for a long time in the minds of those people who heard or knew about that event.
Even after his release from prison, Dhimitër Maksakuli continued to face court demands to return the remaining amount of money, and he was arrested again in November 1933 to serve another part of his sentence. , serving an additional 3 months of imprisonment. In this way, the story of the first and sensational bank robbery in Albania is closed… that in the following years, it would not be the only one…! Memorie.al
