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Man accused of £26m bank robbery Banker £26.5m raid 'inside man'
(about 2 hours later)
A 26-year-old bank employee accused of one of the biggest bank robberies in the world has pleaded not guilty. A 26-year-old bank employee has been accused of being the "inside man" in one of the world's biggest robberies.
Chris Ward from Colinmill, Poleglass, denies taking part in the robbery at the bank's branch in Donegall Square West, Belfast, on 19 December 2004. Chris Ward of Colinmill, Poleglass, denies taking part in the £26.5m robbery at the Northern Bank in Belfast, on 19 December 2004.
Mr Ward was working in the branch at the time of the robbery in which a total of £26.5m was taken. Prosecution said Mr Ward changed the rota of staff with a vault key to put himself on duty on the day of the raid at the Donegall Square West branch.
He also denied two further charges of false imprisonment at his trial in Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday. He also denied two charges of false imprisonment at Belfast Crown Court.
The non-jury trial also heard that the case against Mr Ward was "circumstantial".
Prosecution QC Gordon Kerr told Mr Justice McLaughlin that facts could be established to properly infer the robbers had "a high degree of inside knowledge" and that it had come from Mr Ward.
He claimed the evidence excluded any "reasonable possibility of an innocent explanation" on Mr Ward's part, and that "taken as a whole they show that the defendant was a party to and was complicit in the robbery".
The trial continues.