A Ukrainian bank robber, whose penchant for leaving candy at the scene of his crimes earned him the nickname “the Sweet Bandit,” has seen his life of crime come to a sticky end.
Kyiv police announced at a press briefing on July 4 that they had caught the armed robber, who they said committed 14 bank robberies over the course of 10 years.
The Sweet Bandit himself claims he robbed over 30 banks and sent part of the stolen money to charity, Andriy Kryshchenko, the head of National Police of Kyiv, told journalists at the press briefing.
“He would leave chocolate bars or candies as his special criminal calling card at the crime scenes. He claims he robbed more than 30 banks, and not only in Kyiv. But the police are investigating 14 acts of robbery the criminal supposedly committed over 10 years,” Kryshchenko said.
A screenshot shows a bank robber, who left candy and chocolate bars at crime scenes, caught on a security camera during the robbery in a bank in 2015 (Courtesy)
Kryshchenko said the robber had meticulously planned each crime. He would choose a bank with no security guards, study its working hours and schedule, and obscured his face with sunglasses and hats. He was armed, but never used his weapon.
The man had a criminal record as a teen. He worked in the advertising business as an adult, even opening his own ad agency, but then left the industry for a life of crime.
“He said he stole what had already been stolen (by the banks) and sent part of the stolen money to charity,” Kryshchenko said.
The police had been on the criminal’s trail for more than a year.
In 2015, Ukrainian media reported that a robber had stolen Hr 600,000 from a bank in Kyiv’s Borshchagivskiy district, and left a chocolate bar as a present for the bank manager.
