A 32-year-old bank manager in the German city of Hanover admitted to a court on Tuesday that he organized a heist last year at the local branch of Santander that he ran.

A court spokesperson said an accomplice who worked at the bank also admitted to the robbery of 467,500 euros ($510,000) last June.

On the instructions of the bank manager, the accomplice threatened a third bank employee not involved in the robbery with a gun and forced him to open a safe. The bank manager looked on and pretended to be a victim.

The two men then used the stolen money to buy sports cars and planned to buy apartments and expensive wristwatches, a court spokesperson said.

cw/jm (dpa, HAZ)