A bank teller and his wife planned to flee to Uruguay after stealing nearly $259,000 from his job, authorities in the southeastern Brazilian state of Espirito Santo have revealed.

Eduardo Oliveira, 43, was accompanied by his wife, Paloma Tolentino, 29, and was seen carrying a box of the money after he finished his shift on Nov. 14 at a Banco do Brasil branch in the municipality of Vitoria, surveillance video showed.

Oliveira, who had been employed by the bank for 12 years, could be seen approaching a security guard in the lobby and greeting him before making his way to the exit.

Investigators discovered that Oliveira and Tolentino planned the robbery in advance and were able to change the password to the safe.

The couple loaded up all their belongings and moved into a new home in Vitória on Saturday, using some of the cash to pay off some of their personal debts.

On Monday, Tolentino visited a car dealership and attempted to purchase a Jeep Renegade with $12,700 in cash, but was told by a salesperson that they could not handle the cash-only transaction.

She told the worker that she had money at a bank branch and visited the financial institution, where Oliveira was already waiting for it.

As part of the plot, Tolentino and Oliveira were made to believe that they did not know each other so that others could handle the car purchase.

Brazilian bank worker Eduardo Oliveira and his wife Paloma Tolentino were arrested on Monday, just four days after robbing the Banco do Brasil branch where he was employed. The pair were 153 miles away from the border with Uruguay when they were captured

Eduardo Oliveira carries a box loaded with the money he stole from a Banco do Brasil branch where he worked in Vitória, Brazil, as he followed his wife out the door on November 14

The bank became suspicious when Oliveira did not show up for work on Monday and did not return any of their phone calls.

Another manager at the branch notified the police about the robbery after noticing money missing from the bank safe.

Authorities got a break in the investigation when they found Tolentino had deposited $12,700 into an account used to buy a brand new Jeep Renegade on Monday afternoon.

Investigators visited the car dealership and were able to obtain the vehicle’s license plates.

Oliveira and his wife loaded their dog and cat into the SUV and drove about 1,367 miles to Santa Cruz, a city in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

They were only 153 miles from the border with Uruguay when they were intercepted by the Federal Highway Police.

Footage filmed by police showed an officer searching the vehicle’s trunk and removing a suitcase loaded with 70,700 euros, $41,490 and $131,596 in Brazilian currency.

“The discovery and expertise of the police in identifying that this money was used to buy a car and, when they quickly realized that this car was transferred to Eduardo’s name, was very helpful in arresting them and recovering the money,” said police officer Gabriel Monteiro . which oversees the Specialized Criminal Investigations Department and the Specialized Bank Robbery Unit.

Paloma Tolentino (left) and her husband and bank manager, Eduardo Oliveira (right), face three charges: receiving stolen goods, continuing theft and attempted tax evasion

Authorities recovered €70,700, $41,490 and $131,596 in Brazilian currency

The authorities were able to return all the money to the bank and the vehicle to the car dealer.

They also recovered about $3,400 from Oliveira’s ex-wife, who said the money was part of a divorce settlement.

“At the police station he reserved his right to remain silent, but with all this evidence there is no doubt that he wanted to escape with the money,” Monteiro said.

“This caused some surprise, as he was a person who held a high position in the bank, with a good salary.”