A woman has been found guilty of stealing diamonds worth £4.2 million after swapping them for pebbles in a plot akin to a Hollywood heist movie.

Lulu Lakatos, 60, was sent to luxury Mayfair jewellers Boodles to value the stones on behalf of supposed wealthy Russian buyers and posed as gem expert 'Anna'.

Money Heist in real life: 5 largest cash heists in US history. Source: pixabay.com. Money Heist, also known as La Casa de Papel, is a Spanish series released on Netflix. The plot revolves around two heists: on the Royal Mint of Spain, and on the Bank of Spain. It gained much popularity all around the world and even received the best drama series Emmy award. May 26, 2020 Money Heist garnered a lot of TRP amidst the lockdown and people have been binge-watching this show. But if you want to know who is dating whom and their real-life partners, here's everything we.

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According to prosecutors, this is the highest value theft offence of its kind ever committed in the UK, Wales Online reports.

The seven diamonds, including one worth £2.2 million, were to be placed in a padlocked purse and held in the New Bond Street store's vault until money was transferred.

However, CCTV footage from the family firm's basement showroom captured the moment the purse was put into Lakatos' handbag and switched for a duplicate in seconds using 'sleight of hand'.

Boodles boss Nicholas Wainwright had briefly left to talk on the phone to apparent Russian buyer 'Alexander', who he had met over lunch at Monaco's Hotel Metropole.

The jewellers' diamond expert, Emma Barton, raised suspicions but the diamonds - believed to have been concealed in a hidden compartment - were not found in Lakatos' handbag.

She left the shop before switching the gems to the handbag of an unknown woman and the international gang of criminals fled the UK for France in less than three hours.

When the purse in Boodles' safe was opened the following day, inside were seven small garden pebbles, and the real diamonds have never been recovered.

Lakatos claimed Anna was her late younger sister, Liliana Lakatos, who had confessed to using Lulu Lakatos' passport to commit the crime months before she died in a car crash, aged 49, in Romania in October 2019.

Liliana Lakatos was wanted in Switzerland for an almost identical plot, where an envelope containing 400,000 euros was switched for a duplicate filled with paper.

But on Wednesday Lulu Lakatos was found guilty of conspiracy to steal on or before March 10, 2016 at Southwark Crown Court by a jury majority of 10 to one after nine hours and 19 minutes of deliberations

Judge Emma Goodall QC said she will sentence Lakatos later on Wednesday.

Romanian-born Lakatos, from Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, has three previous convictions for theft in France.

She arrived in London the day before the theft and was captured on CCTV with Georgeta Danila, 53, entering the Cricklewood Lodge Hotel in north London before making a reconnaissance trip to Boodles with Christophe Stankovic and Mickael Jovanovic.

Danila waited in the Willow Walk pub in Victoria with a change of clothes for Lakatos, who went to Boodles disguised in a long dark coat, brimmed hat and long scarf.

Mr Wainwright escorted her down a glass spiral staircase into the meeting room with Ms Barton, where Lakatos examined and weighed the diamonds.

The Boodles chairman said he was 'watching her like a hawk' as she wrapped the diamonds individually in pre-cut tissue paper and placed them inside opaque boxes, which were put into a zippable purse-like bag that was padlocked shut.

But Ms Barton said Anna put the locked purse into her own handbag when Mr Wainwright went upstairs to take a call from 'Alexander'.

'She watched Nicholas walk up the stairs and as soon as his back was turned on the spiral staircase, she grabbed the bag and stuck it in her handbag,' she said, giving evidence.

'I said, 'no, no, no, you can't do that. Please take the diamonds out of your handbag now. I have to be able to see the diamonds at all times'.

'In English, she replied, 'It's OK, don't worry, there's nothing to worry about'.'

After leaving the store, Lakatos switched the diamonds to the bag of one of two unknown young women before discarding her disguise and leaving London for France on the Eurostar with Danila.

Stankovic and Jovanovic left with the two younger women in a rented car through the Channel Tunnel.

Both men were jailed for three years and eight months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal, while Danila was acquitted after telling a jury she had no idea she was involved in the crime.

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If you live for the latest Netflix binge, chances are the Spanish drama La Casa de Papel – known here as Money Heist – has snuck into the deepest vaults of your mind and stolen a huge pile of attention. Whether you’ve raced through the first three seasons of the show or are taking a more leisurely saunter through the Netflix strong room, we’re sure you’ve dedicated part of your week to thinking “What happens next?”

Money Heist focuses around eight robbers led by the Professor. The first season focused on the cadre’s initial heist: attempting to print millions of euros at the Royal Mint of Spain. The third season focused on their new heist, created to free their comrade Rio from the clutches of law enforcement – and steal as much gold from the vault at the Bank of Spain as possible.

We’ve already spilled the tea about part 4, but we know what you’re thinking: what about parts 5, 6 & 7? To help you get through the dark months without new Money Heist installments on our screens, we’ve compiled the most daring real-life heists to inspire showrunner Álex Pina’s devious preparations.

Remember: the show is so addictive that it should come with a health warning. In fact, we issued such a warning here: check it out. If you’re about to get into Money Heist for the first time, block out at least a weekend for your bingewatching session.

“Is Money Heist based on a true story” is currently the most searched question about the show. We’re sorry to reveal it’s not – but there is some inspiration from real life, such as the famous red jumpsuit costumes with Salvador Dali masks and the running motif of the song “Bella Ciao”, an antifascist anthem.

Netflix having such a deservedly big hit on its hands means Money Heist will most likely be continued for future robberies, so the Professor (Álvaro Morte) and his gang may well take even more cues from real life. Here are Film Daily’s favorite real-life heists we think would be perfect fodder for the gripping show.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist (1990)

Isabella Stewart Gardner was a 19th-century patron of the arts who owned a large art collection who founded the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. This museum housed many exclusive and expensive pieces from the likes of storied painters Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Manet.

In 1990, thirteen pieces of art were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum one spring evening by two dudes posing as cops answering a disturbance call. These precious pieces are worth an estimated $500 million – and to this very day have never been found.

Although the real story fingers New England gangsters as suspects, who says the Professor and co. weren’t the actual responsible party? Art imitating life imitating an art heist . . .

The Japanese bank bomb bamboozle (1968)

In 1968 guards were transporting $817,520 to Nihon Shintaku Ginko bank when they were stopped by a young officer of the law – or so they though

Money Heist In Real Life