Heist driver admits guilt, remains silent on missing cash

French police were hunting Tuesday for more than two millions of euros still missing after an armoured car driver, who vanished with the cash nearly two weeks ago, finally surrendered.

Musulin formally admitted to the French authorities that he was responsible for the theft.

The 39-year-old employee of the Swedish security firm Loomis became an Internet sensation after he made off with more than 11 million euros. He drove off when two of his colleagues had stepped away from the vehicle.

On Monday he walked into a police station in Monaco and gave himself up. Police say he was sporting a beard and driving a rental car.

Two million unaccounted for

Two days after Musulin went missing, police in Lyon found 9.1 million euros hidden in a lock-up garage in dozens of bags and cardboard boxes. He had rented the lock-up since April.

The whereabouts of the other 2.5 million euros is still unknown. Musulin has not volunteered any information since his surrender.

"He is not going to cooperate," a judicial official said after Musulin made the four-hour journey from Monaco to Lyon.

"His appearance seemed a bit strange but he appeared to be in good health," his lawyer Christophe Cottet-Bretonnier said. "But we don't know what motivated him to hand himself in, and we don't even know if he understood that he was in Monaco."

Why did he give himself up?

Musulin's lawyer argued that the suspect handed himself in after realising that he was in over his head and that a life on the run was not really for him.

"Toni Muslin is a responsible man. He committed a misdemeanour, not a felony, and has decided to face up to what he had done," defence counsel Christophe Cottet-Bretonnier told AFP in Lyon.

"He's a solitary person, who decided to cut his ties with his family ... but hideouts and a life on the run are not for him. I think that played a role. He seems relieved to have handed himself in."

Did he plan to give himself up?

Investigators say Musulin had spent some days in Italy before his return.

One legal source told the AFP news agency it is perfectly possible it was all part of a plan.

"Musulin could easily have stayed relatively safely in Italy," he said, hypothesising that he "may have wanted to do his time" before going back to pick up the cash.

"It's a clear-cut case of theft. He faces a maximum of three years in prison," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that police suspect the surrender was planned in advance.

One senior police officer told daily newspaper Le Figaro: "Even if he keeps a lid on the missing 2.5 million, he will only get three years’ prison, which could end up being just one and a half years for good behaviour.

On getting out of prison he would be a free man with nothing on his conscience. And if he ends up living in a tax haven, he could be comfortable for a long time."

Internet sensation

Hundreds of French Internet users have taken Musulin to their hearts as a hero of the common man in an era when the super-rich are held responsible for the economic crisis, and some were standing by him after his surrender.

"Good move man! Respect! You will be well paid for just three years in prison," wrote Thomas Boulle on one of the many Facebook fan pages that appeared overnight to celebrate what some called the "heist of the century."

Facebook users created a "Tony Musulin for president" page, while members of the "Tony Musulin fan club" said he was a "hero" for his "no guns, no violence" approach.