A top banker accused of helping a gang stage a sensational EUR 49 million robbery on his safety deposit vault has gone on trial in Germany.

Prosecutors say the banker and four accomplices directed the heist at the private bank in Berlin allowing a gang to flee with the loot.

The gang, reportedly spent 12 hours pillaging safety deposit boxes loaded with cash, gold and jewellery after bank boss Thomas St., 52, let them in.

Former managing director Thomas St. is to give evidence at a later hearing against his four accomplices.

Local media reported that the former banker is being kept under close police guard at a secret address with his family in the German witness protection programme.

Thomas St. is also facing robbery charges but is expected to receive a reduced sentence for his help in testifying against the heist’s other masterminds.

The trial is being held at Berlin’s high-security criminal court where the other four defendants were led in from their nearby Moabit prison cells through a tunnel.

Court reports said Thomas St. had to endure constant intimidating stares from his co-defendants from behind their glass security screen as the trial began.

He had reportedly agreed to help the gang after clocking up EUR 1.3 million (GBP 1.12 million) in debts.

He is said to have given them a transponder to get them through the front door and a list of insurance policies detailing the exact contents of the boxes.

Thomas St. also allegedly turned off alarms on the day of the robbery in November last year.

He is due to give his evidence on 6th November.

The gang involved, known as the Miri Clan, is said to be one of the most ruthless and brutal crime networks in Europe.

The four other defendants are named as masterminds Bilall M., 42, Muhammet H., 42, and Mahmoud M., 26, and Kenan S., 28, who is also said to have taken part in the heist.

The thieves escaped with hoards of cash, gold, jewellery and nearly 1,000 rare watches being kept in the vault by a specialist dealer.

Newsflash obtained a statement from the Berlin Police dated Wednesday, 6th September, before all of the suspects were apprehended, saying: “The person pictured is suspected of being involved in a particularly serious theft and arson on Fasanenstrasse in Charlottenburg on Saturday, 19th November 2022.

“According to previous findings, the man broke into a safe at around 7:15 am with at least four other accomplices and stole wristwatches, gold, cash, jewellery and other valuables worth around EUR 49 million from around 300 safety deposit boxes.

“After the crime, the unknown perpetrators set a fire to cover their tracks. The stolen loot was transported away from the crime scene by the thieves in several loads until around 7:30 pm.”

Only one of the five gang members who carried out the robbery has been arrested.