A gang who pulled off one of the greatest heists in criminal history are to get EUR 3.8 million of public cash to pay defence lawyers’ bills, it has emerged.

The gang members escaped with loot worth at least EUR 113 million after breaking into the Green Vault at Dresden Castle in Germany in 2019.

Five gang members pleaded guilty to the raid during their trial after a plea bargain where they returned some of the loot in return for less severe sentences.

At the end of the trial, judges sentenced them to between four and six years behind bars.

Now it has emerged that the state of Saxony, whose prosecutors brought the case against them, will be left footing a massive bill for the gang’s defence.

The Dresden Regional Court has thrown out a bid by Saxony to not have to pay the bill.

Saxony is fighting over the high legal costs it now has to pay the Remmo clan. These are calculated based on the value of the stolen jewels and Saxony does not want to pay the sum of EUR 3.8 million GBP (3.29 million).

To add insult to injury, one of the most valuable items stolen in the heist, the 49-carat Dresden Diamond, was never recovered.

This royal gem alone, which once belonged to the king of Poland, is believed to be worth EUR 9.2 million (GBP 7.88 million).

The only option left to the state of Saxony is reportedly to sue the Remmo clan in a new civil case, but this may prove futile as on paper, they are said to be penniless.

On 25th November 2019, the Remmo clan broke into the Green Vault museum in Dresden Castle and stole priceless historical artefacts.

Some sources have even estimated the total value of the artefacts, when their cultural value is taken into account, to be worth over EUR 1 billion (GBP 857 million).