The mastermind behind the robbery was Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The fortresslike structure of the bank had much of the nation’s treasure, including its foreign currency reserves. One day before the Iraq War began in 2003, he sent three large trucks to the Central Bank and his son Qusay with a handwritten note asking to withdraw nearly $1 billion. The money was then loaded in tanks and looted away. Despite Saddam’s best efforts, the truckloads of cash did eventually fall into foreign hands.