In October 2016, Kim Kardashian experienced a harrowing robbery at gunpoint, with jewelry valued at millions stolen during the brazen heist in Paris.
This incident marked the largest theft from an individual in France in over two decades, capturing headlines globally.
Almost ten years later, the case is finally set to be heard in court.
Why has there been such a delay? Will Kardashian testify? And who are the so-called “grandpa robbers” on trial?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Kardashian at the Siran Presentation on the day of the robbery. Pic: Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock
What occurred?
Two years after Kardashian married rapper Kanye West in an extravagant week-long celebration across Paris and Florence, the Kardashian-West family returned to the French capital for Paris Fashion Week.
While her husband went back to the U.S. to continue his Saint Pablo tour, Kardashian remained in Paris with her sister Kourtney and several members of their entourage, in a collection of exclusive apartments referred to as the No Address Hotel.
Situated on Tronchet Street, close to Place de l’Opéra and the trendy Avenue Montaigne, Hotel de Pourtalès is favored among A-list celebrities visiting the city.
Staying in the luxurious Sky Penthouse, Kardashian’s suite costs around £13,000 per night.
Kardashian was staying at the Hotel de Pourtalès
On the night of October 3, after attending a fashion show with her sister, Kardashian stayed behind in the apartment while her entourage, including her bodyguard Pascal Duvier, went out.
At around 2:30 a.m., three armed men, disguised as police officers, broke into the apartment building, reportedly threatening the concierge at gunpoint.
Two of the assailants allegedly compelled the concierge to guide them to Kardashian’s suite, demanding to know, “Where’s the rapper’s wife?”
According to Kardashian, she had been “dozing” in bed when the intruders entered her room.
She has indicated that her social media activity may have provided the perpetrators with insight into her whereabouts. “I was Snapchatting that I was home, and that everyone was going out,” she later stated.
The star of Keeping Up With The Kardashians provided a detailed account of the incident to police, as reported in the French weekly Le Journal Du Dimanche.
“They grabbed me and took me into the hallway. They tied me up with plastic cables and taped my hands, then they put tape over my mouth and my legs,” she reported.
She claimed they pointed a gun at her, specifically demanding her ring and money.
Police guard the entrance to the Hotel de Pourtalès the day after the robbery
Kardashian stated that they carried her into the bathroom and placed her in the bathtub, wearing only a bathrobe at the time.
Initially, she believed the assailants were terrorists intending to kidnap her, as reported in a French police document from three months post-robbery.
Kardashian expressed to the officers, “I thought I was going to die.”
The authorities reported that the robbers fled on bicycles with stolen goods valued at approximately $10 million (£7.5 million), including a $4 million (£3 million) 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring gifted by West.
After their departure, Kardashian managed to free herself and sought help. Subsequently, she returned to the U.S. on a private jet and then hired a completely new security team.
Kardashian shows off her $4m ring on Instagram
What was taken?
Alongside her engagement ring, Kardashian indicated the thieves stole her sizeable Louis Vuitton jewelry box, which she stated contained “everything I owned”.
In a police report submitted to French authorities around 4:30 a.m. on the night of the robbery, Kardashian detailed the following stolen items:
• Two diamond Cartier bracelets
• A gold and diamond Jacob necklace
• Diamond earrings by Lauren Schwartz
• Yanina earrings
• Three gold Jacob necklaces
• Various bracelets, jewels, and rings
• A Lauren Schwartz diamond necklace
• A necklace featuring six small diamonds
• A necklace with “Saint” spelled out in diamonds
• A diamond-encrusted cross necklace by Jacob
• A yellow gold Rolex watch
• Two yellow gold rings
• An iPhone 6 and a BlackBerry
Police only managed to recover the diamond-encrusted cross dropped by the robbers during their escape.
It’s assumed the gold items were melted down and resold, while the engagement ring, now synonymous with the robbery, would be too recognizable to sell openly.
Kardashian at the Siran Presentation on the day of the robbery. Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock
What to expect in court?
The trial is set to commence at the Court of Appeal of Paris—the largest appeals court in France—on April 28 and is expected to continue for a month.
The proceedings will feature a presiding judge, two professional assessors, and six jurors.
Over 2,000 documents are involved in the case, with four civil parties participating.
Kardashian at the Balenciaga show on the day of the robbery. Pic: Pixelformula/Sipa/Shutterstock
Who will stand trial?
Initially, there were 12 individuals charged in the case, but following the death of one suspect and another being medically excused, 10 defendants—nine men and one woman—are now facing trial.
Five of these individuals, aged between 60 and 72 at the time of the robbery, are charged with armed robbery and kidnapping:
• Yunice Abbas
• Aomar Ait Khedache
• Harminv Ait Khedache
• Didier Dubreucq
• Marc-Alexandre Boyer
Abbas, now 72, has confessed to his involvement in the robbery. He authored a book titled I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian in 2021, which a court later ruled he could not profit from.
Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, nicknamed “Old Omar” by French crime journalists, has also admitted to being part of the theft but denies leading the operation.
The other five defendants face charges of aiding the heist or unlawfully possessing a weapon:
• Florus Heroui
• Gary Mader
• Christiane Glotin
• François Delaporte
• Marc Boyer
Among these, Mader previously served as a VIP greeter for the car company Kardashian used in Paris, while Heroui was a bar manager who purportedly provided details about Kardashian’s movements.
Many of the accused are now elderly with serious health issues and have spent time in custody since their arrest but are currently under judicial supervision.
If convicted of more serious charges, they could face sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
Kardashian at the Off-White show three days prior to the robbery. Pic: Photo Image Press/Shutterstock
Will Kardashian testify?
Yes.
Her lawyer, Michael Rhodes, stated that Kardashian has a “tremendous appreciation and admiration for the French judicial system” and desires the trial to proceed smoothly, adhering to French law and respecting all involved parties.
As a trainee lawyer, Kardashian has recently become a significant advocate for criminal justice reform in the U.S.
(R-L) Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kris Jenner at the front row three days before the robbery. Pic: Caroline Blumberg/EPA/Shutterstock
Why the lengthy delay in court?
Following the robbery, a manhunt was launched, with French police under pressure to assure the public regarding the safety of Paris.
Just a year earlier, in 2015, the city had been rocked by terrorist attacks orchestrated by Islamic militants, resulting in the deaths of 130 individuals, including 90 during a concert at the Bataclan theatre.
French authorities initially detained 17 suspects in January 2017—three months post-robbery—after DNA evidence was found on plastic bands used to restrain Kardashian. Ultimately, twelve individuals were indicted.
The case was set for trial in 2021, coinciding with limited court operations due to multiple COVID-19 lockdowns and France’s largest criminal trial concerning the November 2015 terrorist attacks.
Kardashian at the Givenchy show on the day of the robbery. Pic: Bukajlo Frederic/Sipa/Shutterstock
What has Kardashian expressed about the incident?
Kardashian characterized the robbery as a “life-changing” experience. She temporarily stepped away from filming Keeping Up With the Kardashians for three weeks and abstained from social media for three months.
In a March 2017 episode titled Paris, Kardashian first shared her account of the experience.
She recounted hearing a noise in her apartment and calling out, mistakenly thinking it was her sister or assistant: “At that moment when there wasn’t an answer, my heart started to get really tense. Like, you know, your stomach just kind of like, knots up and you’re like, ‘OK, what’s going on?’ I knew something wasn’t quite right.”
She continued, “They asked for money. I said, ‘I don’t have any money.’ They dragged me out to the hallway on top of the stairs. That’s when I saw the gun, clear as day. I was looking at the gun, looking down back at the stairs. I was like, I have a split second in my mind to make this quick decision.
“Either they’re going to shoot me in the back or if I make it [down the stairs] and the elevator does not open in time or the stairs are locked, there’s no way out.”
Three months later, during a Forbes Power Women’s Summit, she explained how the incident transformed her views on social media: “They had followed my moves on social media, and they knew my every move and what I had.”
She added, “It was definitely a huge, huge, huge lesson for me to not show off some of the things that I have. It was a huge lesson to me to not show off where I go.
“It’s just changed my whole life, but I think for the better.”
West and Kardashian at the Off-White show three days prior to the robbery. Pic: Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock
In an October 2020 interview with David Letterman, Kardashian disclosed her fear of sexual assault and murder during the robbery, emphasizing her concern for her sister’s well-being throughout the ordeal.
She spoke on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction: “I kept on thinking about Kourtney, I kept on thinking she’s going to come home and I’m going to be dead in the room and she’s going to be traumatized for the rest of her life if she sees me… I thought that was my fate.”
When speaking to French police about how the robbery impacted her three months later, Kardashian shared, “I think that my perception of jewelry now is that I am not as attached to it as I used to be. I don’t have the same feeling about it. In fact, I even think that it has become a bit of a burden to have the responsibility of such expensive jewels.
“There is nothing of sentimental value to compare with the act of going home and finding one’s children and one’s family.”
She later described Paris as “not the right place” for her and did not return to the city for two years following the incident.
Kardashian mentioned in a 2023 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians that she refrained from purchasing jewelry for seven years following the robbery, kept no valuables in her home, and only wore items that were either borrowed or imitation.
She remarked that realizing the insignificance of material possessions has transformed her “into a completely different person in the best way.”