The Simplest Heist Ever: Bank Manager Steals $45,000 Using Cartoon Duck Money |

If you thought embezzlement required Ocean’s Eleven- level planning, a bank manager in South Korea just proved otherwise. He walked out of his own vault with over $45,000 (around `37.4 lakh) in cash, and left behind a stack of cartoon duck currency in its place.The vault had only one keyholder, and that was himThe vault had only one keyholder – and that was him. At a small-town branch of the Saemaul Geumgo credit union in Gyeongju, skeletal staffing meant the branch manager alone handled the vault’s cash at day’s end, an arrangement that typically invites a slow, meticulous heist. Instead, he opted for startling simplicity: he pocketed the money and walked off with a briefcase of real bills. To mask the shortfall, he padded cash bundles with toy money bought online, sandwiching the fake notes between genuine currency. The twist? These weren’t even passable forgeries but garishly coloured novelty bills featuring cartoon ducks. It didn’t take long for the façade to crack – a suspicious coworker spotted the ruse and alerted higher authorities.

No cops, no cuffs, no consequences (not yet)Rather than call the police, Saemaul Geumgo launched its own internal probe, reportedly to avoid reputational damage, an effort somewhat undercut by the fact that the story is now international news. Inspectors checked the vault, found the ducks, and that was that: the manager was fired, the stolen money was returned, and the bank has declared the matter closed. No arrest, no charges, no mugshot, just a man who allegedly funded a brief life of crime with money that wouldn’t even pass in a game of Monopoly, and appears to have gotten away with it.– Compiled by Monodeep Dey