Masked bank robbers make away with JD59,000 in Mahatta

AMMAN — Police on Sunday said they are searching for two men who allegedly robbed a bank at gunpoint in an eastern Amman neighbourhood.

Police Spokesperson Amer Sartawi said two armed and masked men entered a bank in the Mahatta neighbourhood, stole an undisclosed amount of cash, then fled.

"Police have cordoned off the area surrounding the bank and are investigating the incident," Sartawi told The Jordan Times. 

However, another official told The Jordan Times that the robbers reportedly escaped with approximately JD59,000 in cash.

"The robbers entered the bank around 2:50pm waving guns and demanding cash," the official source said.

They then jumped on to the counter, "smashed the camera and climbed over the counter demanding all the cash in the drawers while waving their weapons”, the source said.

A video went viral showing a car double-parked next to the bank with two men exiting their vehicle and running quickly in the same direction towards some shops.

Almost a minute-and-a-half later, the two men are seen rushing outside, jumping into their car and driving off.  Three men, all wearing suits, are also scene in the video exiting from their establishment and attempting to stop the vehicle. 

A senior bank official told The Jordan Times on Sunday that cash in the banks is "usually insured".

"Employees at banks, especially tellers, are instructed not to resist anyone who robs the bank at gunpoint.  The safety of the bank employees is the priority of all financial establishments," the bank official, who preferred not to be identified, said. 

Sunday’s robbery was the sixth incident targetting a local bank in the Kingdom since the beginning of the year. Police managed to arrest the majority of the suspects and retrieved most of the stolen cash.

In 2018, a money exchange shop and eight banks were targetted in Jordan. In some of these cases, the robbers were armed or used fake weapons.  

Seven of the nine suspected robbers have been arrested so far, while two suspects, who escaped with over JD105,000 in cash from two banks in the Wihdat neighbourhood and in Irbid, remain at large.

The State Security Court (SSC) has been passing sentences of up to 15 years in prison for bank robbery. 

The SSC considers bank robbery an offence that endangers the safety of society, disturbs public order, spreads fear among citizens, endangers the lives of bank employees and jeopardises economic resources.