Paris court finds eight guilty over 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian
A Paris court has found the ringleader and seven other people guilty over the 2016 robbery of American reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
The court acquitted two of the 10 defendants.
The sentences being read out by the court president range from prison terms to fines.
Kim Kardashian was attending Paris fashion week in 2016 men broke into a luxury residence in Paris, tied her up and held her hostage at gunpoint in her bedroom.
READ MORE
The armed, masked men, who were dressed in police jackets, escaped with jewellery worth up to an estimated €10m. The jewels, which were never found, included a 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring given to Kardashian by her then husband, the rapper Kanye West, estimated to be worth £3m.
The leaders of the gang, aged in their 60s and 70s, were nicknamed the 'grandpa robbers' by French media.
They arrived by bike or on foot at the smart residence in central Paris and held a receptionist at gunpoint before going up to Kardashian's room, where she had been sleeping. They tied her up and taped her mouth, and left her on the bathroom floor before escaping.
The state prosecutor, Anne-Dominique Merville, told jurors this week not to be fooled by the men's age. She said they were seasoned criminals with previous records and prison sentences.
She said: 'They were masked, wearing gloves, they were going to hold her and tie her up. They have no empathy for Kim Kardashian, for the receptionist.'
Merville said jurors, who are sitting with a panel of judges, should not to be taken in by 'the reassuring wrinkles' of the accused and should remember they were charged with involvement in a violent crime.
She called it a 'meticulously prepared' robbery, where 'thieves' were recruited. She said: 'They came for the ring, they got it. They knew exactly what they were doing.'
In court, some of the men apologised to Ms Kardashian, who told one: 'I forgive you for what has taken place, but it does not change the emotion, the feelings, the trauma and the way my life is forever changed.' -The Guardian/ Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Department of Social Protection fined €550,000 over facial scans
The Department of Social Protection has been fined €550,000 after data protection watchdogs found 'a number of deficiencies' in its compliance with European data privacy rules concerning the use of facial scans in issuing Public Services Cards. The Department was also ordered to come up with a valid lawful basis for the use of facial scans and facial matching software for the registration of Public Services Cards within nine months, or it must stop using it. The decision is the result of an inquiry that the Data Protection Commission commenced in July 2021, examining the department's processing of biometric facial templates and the use of facial matching technologies as part of the registration process for the Public Services Card. The department uses Safe 2 registration to verify identity when accessing public services. The process involves a photo of the applicant, which is then run through software to check against images used in other Safe 2 registrations. This is designed to prevent duplicate registrations. READ MORE The registration is mandatory for applying for a Public Services Card, of which 3.2 million are in existence, and is necessary for certain services, including welfare payments. [ 'No legal basis' for photo database created using Public Services Card Opens in new window ] However, that means there is ongoing collection, storage and processing of sensitive personal data on a large scale by the DSP, which requires precise legal justification, the DPC said. The inquiry looked at whether the DSP had a lawful basis for collecting biometric data for conducting facial matching as part of Safe 2 registration, if it could retain that data, if it complied with transparency obligations, and if it had carried out an adequate Data Protection Impact Assessment. The DPC found the department had infringed data protection regulations on a number of fronts. In its decision, the regulator said it failed to identify a valid lawful basis for the collection of biometric data for Safe 2 registration at the time of the inquiry. As a result, it also infringed GDPR by retaining biometric data collected as part of Safe 2 registration. The DPC also penalised the department for infringing its obligations on transparency, and for failing include certain details in the Data Protection Impact Assessment that it carried out. The DPC said it had reprimanded the Department of Social Protection and issued the administrative fines. The department must also stop biometric data in connection with Safe 2 registration within nine months of this decision, if it cannot identify a valid lawful basis for the data collection. 'It is important to note that none of the findings of infringement identified, nor the corrective powers exercised by the DPC, pertain to the roll-out of Safe 2 registration by the DSP as a matter of principle. The DPC did not find any evidence of inadequate technical and organisational security measures deployed by the DSP in connection with Safe 2 registration in the context of this inquiry,' said deputy commissioner Graham Doyle. 'This inquiry was concerned with assessing whether the legislative framework presently in place for Safe 2 registration complies with the requirements of data protection law and whether the DSP operates Safe 2 registration in a data protection-compliant manner, and the findings announced today identify a number of deficiencies in this regard.' A previous inquiry into the processing of personal data in connection with the issuing of Public Services Cards was concluded in 2019, with the department initially appealing the DPC's decision before withdrawing the action and coming to an agreement with the watchdog.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
'We are just victims here': Filipino families flee Ballymena home
Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger played a recording of drones from her neighbour, 'in Blanchardstown, we've been suffering this for over a year and a half."
Irish Times
18 hours ago
- Irish Times
Attorney general scandal adds to Spanish government woes
The unprecedented legal action being taken against Spain 's attorney general which could see him go on trial and has fuelled calls for his resignation is just the latest in a litany of scandals which have left the Socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez struggling for stability. This week, a supreme court investigating judge recommended that the attorney general, Álvaro García Ortiz, should face trial for his alleged role in leaking secret information to the media about a tax fraudster. In March 2024, Spanish media reported details of a plea deal which Alberto González Amador, boyfriend of the conservative president of the Madrid regional government Isabel Díaz Ayuso, had proposed to the general attorney's office. The tax office had found that González Amador had avoided paying about €350,000 from earnings made from importing healthcare material during the Covid-19 pandemic. READ MORE The media reports corrected a false claim made by Díaz Ayuso's team that the attorney general's office had been the one to offer a deal. The investigating judge, Ángel Luis Hurtado, has now accused the attorney general himself of being the source of the reports. According to the judge, the leak aimed 'to make clear that, according to [García Ortiz], the attorney general had not offered any deal of this kind'. Díaz Ayuso, a prominent figure on the right, has been a fierce critic of the government. If he does go on trial, which now looks likely, and were to be found guilty, García Ortiz could receive a jail sentence of up to four years. However, the most damaging allegation, as far as the government is concerned, was that the attorney general, who it proposed for the post, was acting on the orders of the prime minister's office. The left-wing coalition government has staunchly defended the attorney general and justice minister Félix Bolanos flatly denied the claim the government was involved in the leak. [ Catalan amnesty expected to get court blessing amid political turmoil Opens in new window ] 'I regret very much that the supreme court should make such a serious assertion without any evidence, because that never happened,' he said. However, the opposition says García Ortiz cannot remain in his post. 'The situation regarding the attorney general is unprecedented in our democracy, you must demand his resignation,' Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative Popular Party (PP), told Sánchez in Congress on Wednesday. The opposition leader has cast this as the latest in a series of scandals to affect the government. Sánchez's wife, Begona Gómez, has been investigated for possible business irregularities and his musician brother, David, is due to go on trial for alleged influence peddling in being appointed to a public post. A former Socialist minister, José Luis Ábalos, is being investigated on suspicion of profiting from a kickback scheme when he was in government. Meanwhile, a former Socialist party official, Leire Díez, has been caught on tape offering favourable treatment to a businessman in exchange for incriminating information on the police unit carrying out investigations into several cases affecting the government. Many judicial experts have said the attorney general's position is untenable. However, a large number have also expressed concerns about the judge's investigation, pointing to an apparent lack of evidence against García Ortiz. Tensions between the government and the judiciary have been escalating since Sánchez's administration introduced an amnesty law for Catalan nationalists last year. Many on the left see the ongoing investigations as part of a campaign by magistrates with right-wing allegiances. Government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría said that 'at this point certain judges are doing things which are difficult to understand'. A recent poll by the national statistics institute found that 78 per cent of Spaniards do not trust the impartiality of their justice system in cases involving political parties.
