Tom Ewart Smith
IN a case that’s left colleagues stunned, a cleaner working at a bank branch in Marbella has been arrested after allegedly stealing €16,000 in cash – all while mopping the floors.
The woman, employed by an external cleaning company, is accused of repeatedly helping herself to money from the cashier’s counter at a BBVA branch on Calle Serenata over several days in early March.
She carried out the thefts during a brief window each morning, between 8.00am and 8.30am, when the bank’s cash desk staff were temporarily away from their posts, according to police.
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Security footage reviewed by investigators reportedly shows the cleaner acting with casual precision – approaching the counter while carrying out her duties and pocketing bills as she passed.
Staff only realised something was amiss on March 18, when a routine cash count revealed a significant shortfall.
The case was handed to the Theft Unit of the Policia Local, who quickly identified the cleaner as the primary suspect.
She was arrested shortly after, and officers later discovered she had spent over €1,400 at a cosmetic clinic just days after the last theft – raising suspicions that the stolen money may have funded the splurge.
Just last month in Mallorca, two brothers employed as cleaners at RCD Mallorca’s training facility were arrested for allegedly stealing luxury items from professional footballers.
After returning from a session at the Son Bibiloni complex, several players discovered valuables missing, including high-end watches and gold chains.
Fortunately, police managed to recover the stolen goods before they could be sold.
Like the Marbella incident, the Mallorca theft also involved external cleaning staff, and the brothers even had prior criminal records – raising questions about vetting procedures for contract workers with access to sensitive areas.
As for the Marbella cleaner, the investigation remains open as authorities continue efforts to recover the stolen money and determine how the thefts were able to continue undetected for so long.
