Nine Arrested in Netherlands for ATM Explosive Attacks in Switzerland

Press release Published on 24 April 2026

Netherlands: Nine individuals arrested in connection with ATM attacks

Bern, 24.04.2026 — On 14 April, Dutch police arrested six individuals in the Netherlands following a joint investigation with Germany, France and Switzerland. A seventh suspect was also arrested in the Netherlands on 22 April. In the course of this same international investigation, two other suspects had already been arrested in December 2025. Those arrested are accused of carrying out explosive attacks on automated teller machines (ATMs) in Germany and Switzerland. The Federal Office of Police (fedpol) and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, in close cooperation with the relevant cantonal police forces and the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS), played a decisive role in achieving this outcome.

Since 2019, the number of attacks on ATMs in Switzerland has risen sharply. This type of criminal activity has affected the majority of Swiss cantons, with most ATM attacks since 2023 having involved explosives. Investigations in recent years suggest that Dutch criminal networks are suspected of being responsible for more than half of all such attacks. These groups have been blowing up ATMs in Europe – particularly in Germany and Austria – for about 15 years. Several of these networks have also been operating in Switzerland since at least 2020. The coordinated arrests targeting one of these networks were carried out by Dutch police (Politie Amsterdam West) between 14 and 22 April, with on-the-ground support from German police (Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen), the French Gendarmerie (Office central de lutte contre la délinquance itinérante) and fedpol.

Cross-border joint investigations

The Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Politie Amsterdam West, the Office central de lutte contre la délinquance itinérante, Europol and fedpol have been working together since 2025 within an international operational task force. The findings of the investigation formed the basis for a coordinated arrest operation (‘Joint Action Day', JAD). Over the course of Joint Action Days on 14 and 22 April, Politie Amsterdam West arrested seven alleged perpetrators in the Netherlands, carried out more than fifteen home searches, and seized, among other things, explosive substances, vehicles and cash.  On 4 December 2025, following an attack on an ATM in Gland (Vaud), two further members of the network were arrested in the Netherlands.

The extensive investigative measures were ordered and supported at judicial level, and within the framework of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office and the Amsterdam District Public Prosecutor's Office. The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), and the French prosecution service (Juridiction interrégionale spécialisée de Nancy) also contributed to the investigation.

Connection to Switzerland

The suspects are accused of carrying out around ten attacks on ATMs using explosives across Swiss territory, including the following:

• 20 May 2024 – Alle (canton of Jura)
• 20 May 2024 – Porrentruy (canton of Jura)
• 21 July 2025 – Couvet (canton of Neuchâtel)
• 3 December 2025 – Gland (canton of Vaud) The presumption of innocence applies to all parties involved in the proceedings. The criminal proceedings have so far been conducted by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland. It stands ready to provide further information on this matter.

fedpol and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland would like to thank all partner authorities involved, both in Switzerland and abroad, for their excellent cooperation. Cross-border operations such as this, alongside cooperation with non-police stakeholders such as banks, ATM operators and ATM manufacturers, are crucial to combating the phenomenon of ATM attacks efficiently and in the long term. This is also reflected in the current situation: in 2025, 24 attacks on ATMs were carried out in Switzerland – half as many as in the previous year and the lowest figure since 2019. The success rate of attacks fell to around 30% in 2025, reflecting the continued strengthening of security measures by banks and ATM operators.