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Malay Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Kim Kardashian returns to Paris to confront armed robbers nearly a decade after heist
PARIS, May 13 — A-list celebrity Kim Kardashian is to testify in a Paris court on Tuesday, an eagerly awaited appearance nearly a decade after masked men robbed her at gunpoint of millions of dollars of jewellery during the French capital's fashion week. Ten suspects have been on trial since late April over the armed robbery in 2016, which saw jewellery worth some US$10 million (RM43 million) stolen from the reality TV star and influencer. The trial has attracted huge media attention, with close to 500 reporters accredited, and the courthouse on Paris's historic Ile de la Cite is expected to come under siege from fans hoping for a glimpse of the celebrity. Kardashian is ready to 'confront' her Paris attackers, her lawyers said last week. 'She is committed to attending in person,' French lawyers Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout told AFP last week, saying she would do so 'with dignity and courage'. She is due to take the stand at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT), and is expected to speak to the press afterwards. On the night of October 2-3, 2016, Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive, discreet hotel in central Paris. She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped. Lawyers have not divulged what exactly Kardashian, who has been keeping abreast of developments at the trial, will say in her court appearance. During what the French press has dubbed the 'heist of the century', masked men walked away with millions of dollars' worth of jewels. They included a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West, and valued at €3.5 million. The theft was the most valuable to target a private individual in France in 20 years. Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records. They have underworld nicknames like 'Old Omar' and 'Blue Eyes' that resemble those of old-school French bandits of 1960s and 1970s films noirs. 'They're quite a team,' said investigator Michel Malecot. 'But they made some mistakes', he said, notably by leaving DNA that allowed investigators to identify them. 'Crying hysterically' Sixty-eight-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, known as 'Old Omar', has admitted to tying up Kardashian but denies being the mastermind behind the robbery. Another suspect in the dock, 71-year-old Yunice Abbas, later wrote a book about the heist. In it he describes how his bag became caught in the wheel of his escape vehicle, a bicycle, causing him to fall off and have to scramble to shove the loot back in the bag. Investigators said a man called Gary Madar, the brother of Kardashian's driver in Paris, tipped the suspects off that Kardashian was 'in French territory'. This allegation has been ridiculed by Madar's lawyer, who remarked that 350 million online followers were already aware of the star's whereabouts. The night of the robbery could have gone very differently had Kardashian joined her sister Kourtney and gone clubbing, an idea she entertained before deciding to stay in the hotel, the court heard last week. Her designated driver, Michael Madar – whose company was billing the Kardashian/West couple up to 400,000 euros per year to provide security – had been working non-stop for 21 hours and asked a colleague to replace him for the trip to the night club. The replacement, Mohammed Q., and a Kardashian bodyguard, Pascal D., rushed back to the hotel after Kardashian tried to call them and then failed to pick up her phone when they called back. 'I saw that the lift was on the first floor, where Kim was staying,' Pascal D. told the court. When he found her, Kardashian 'was in a terrible state. She was crying hysterically', he told the court. 'I asked what had happened, and she said she'd been robbed.' Kardashian, her lawyers said, 'is genuinely grateful' for the way the French authorities have handled the investigation, showing her 'the utmost respect and consideration'. The US celebrity, sometimes described as being 'famous for being famous', became well known in the early 2000s through TV reality shows, before launching fashion brands and appearing in a number of films. She is among the world's most followed people on Instagram and X. She has been named among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, and among the most powerful women by Fortune magazine. The trial is set to close on May 23. — AFP
The Sun
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Kim Kardashian to testify against ‘Grandpa Robbers' gang who tied her up at gunpoint as she begged for life in Paris
KIM Kardashian is set to face her "grandpa robbers" in court - marking a highly-anticipated appearance nearly a decade after the million-dollar heist. Ten suspects have been on trial since last month over the 2016 gunpoint mugging which saw the celebrity A-lister lose $10million (£7.5m) worth of jewellery in Paris. 12 12 12 12 The landmark trial has gained widespread media attention - which will only soar even further after the influencer makes her much-awaited appearance. Her lawyers said last week that she was finally ready to "confront" her alleged attackers. French lawyer Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout said: "She is committed to attending in person." They added that she would go in with " dignity and courage". The reality star previously said of the raid: 'I thought they were terrorists who had come to kidnap me, I thought I was going to die.' Kim K is set to take the stand at 2pm local time. She is currently studying law in California, and has stayed away from the beginning of the trial at the Paris Assizes. The 'heist of the century' trial started on April 28 and came nine years after the reality star had $10million (£7.5m) worth of jewellery stolen - including her $4million (£3m) engagement ring. Kim was left pleading for her life during the attack after they bound her hands and feet, and taped her mouth - known as sausaging someone in French. They then carried her to the bathtub wearing only her dressing gown. The terrifying ordeal led to the Kardashian family changing how much they share of their lavish lifestyles on social media. The elderly gang - now in their 60s and 70s - had been inspired by Kim's flashy posts online showing off her bling and had been allegedly tipped off by a chauffeur that she was alone in her secluded hotel room in the 8th arrondissement during Fashion Week. It was supposed to be one final job for the veteran robbers who each had a string of convictions. They claimed to not know who the social media influencer was but instead demanded the concierge take them to 'the rapper's wife'. 12 12 12 One defendant said he only realised the scale of her celebrity when his wife was watching the news about the raid on TV the next morning. Having pointed a gun at Kim while forcing her to hand over the jewels they made a clumsy escape on foot and by bike, leaving behind a £30,000 diamond necklace in the street, cable ties covered in DNA, and their fingerprints all over the apartment. While they argued about how to split to loot and sell it onto Belgian diamond experts on the terrace of a bistro, top French cops had enlisted the help of the FBI to track them down and had already bugged their phones. None of the jewels have ever been recovered with many believed to have been melted down and sold in Antwerp. Her diamond engagement ring from her marriage to Kanye West was believed to be too distinctive to fleece. Police believe that Kim 's chauffeur's brother was in on the heist but the burglars argue that everything they needed to carry out the raid was posted online publicly. 12 12 Their trial had been delayed by Covid and by a backlog of high profile cases in the French justice system. Of the 10 people being tried, five are on trial for armed robbery and kidnap charges while the rest are on for complicity in the heist or possession of a weapon. On May 2, the court heard that the only female member of the gang accused of robbing the TV star at gunpoint could not be guilty 'because attacking a woman isn't one of her principles'. One member Yunice Abbas, 71, is expected to apologise to Kardashian in court having already penned a memoir titled 'I kidnapped Kim Kardashian'. What happened to Kim Kardashian? by Harvey Geh Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, 2016, marking the biggest robbery of an individual in France for more than 20 years. At the time the reality icon was in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week with her former husband Kanye West - before the rapper returned to the US to pick up his Saint Pablo tour. Now left in Paris along with her sister Kourtney and various other entourage members, Kardashian stayed in an exclusive set of apartments so secret they are dubbed the No Address Hotel. The penthouse suite Kardashian was staying in at the chic Hotel de Pourtalès - which is popular with celebrity A-listers - costs an eye-watering £13,000 per night. On the evening of October 3, after the star had attended a fashion show with her sister, Kardashian decided to stay in the apartment alone while the rest of her crew - including bodyguard Pascal Duvier - went out for the night. At around 2:30am, three armed men donning ski masks and dressed as police burst into the apartment block and threatened the concierge at gunpoint. Two of them are alleged to have forced the concierge to take them to the reality icon's suite - with the worker later telling police that they yelled: "Where's the rapper's wife?" Kardashian said she was "dozing" on her bed at the time, after uploading social media posts telling viewers that she was home alone, which she believes gave the robbers a "window of opportunity". The star said the robbers grabbed her, tied her up with plastic cables and taped her mouth and legs before dropping her in the bathtub. Before locking her in the bathroom they had held her at gunpoint and demanded specifically for her ring and also money. Cops said the robbers left the room after seizing the jewels and escaped on bikes - while carrying a haul estimated to be worth about $10million including a $4million 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring from West. Kardashian said she then managed to free herself from the restraints and rushed to help. He fled on his bike, spilling the loot on the floor as he fell over in the rush. Marceau Baum-Gertner - nicknamed Rough Diamond - died aged 72 just days before the trial was due to start. Aomar Ait Khedache - known as Old Omar - has written a letter to Kim from jail apologising for the trauma he caused. Most of the ageing defendants are expected to receive lengthy jail sentences if found guilty. 12
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Find out if Kim Kardashian will take the stand in $10M Paris hot burglary trial tomorrow
A-list celebrity Kim Kardashian is to testify in a Paris court on Tuesday, an eagerly awaited appearance nearly a decade after being robbed of millions of dollars of jewelry during the French capital's fashion week. Ten suspects have been on trial since late April over the armed robbery in 2016, which saw jewelry worth some $10 million stolen from the reality TV star and influencer. The trial has attracted huge media attention, with close to 500 reporters accredited. Kardashian is ready to 'confront' her Paris attackers, her lawyers said last week. 'She is committed to attending in person,' French lawyers Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout told AFP last week, saying she would do so 'with dignity and courage'. She is due to take the stand at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT). On the night of October 2-3, 2016, Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive, discreet hotel in central Paris. She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped. Lawyers have not divulged what exactly Kardashian, who has been keeping abreast of developments at the trial, will say in her court appearance. During what the French press has dubbed the 'heist of the century', masked men walked away with millions of dollars' worth of jewels. That included a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West, and valued at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million). The theft was the most valuable to target a private individual in France in 20 years. Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records. They have underworld nicknames like 'Old Omar' and 'Blue Eyes' that resemble those of old-school French bandits of 1960s and 1970s films noirs. 'They're quite a team,' said investigator Michel Malecot. 'But they made some mistakes', he said, notably by leaving DNA that allowed investigators to identify them. - 'Crying hysterically' - Sixty-eight-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, known as 'Old Omar', has admitted to tying up Kardashian but denies being the mastermind behind the robbery. Another suspect in the dock, 71-year-old Yunice Abbas, later wrote a book about the heist. In it he describes how his bag became caught in the wheel of his escape vehicle, a bicycle, causing him to fall off and have to scramble to shove the loot back in the bag. Investigators said a man called Gary Madar, the brother of Kardashian's driver in Paris, tipped the suspects off that Kardashian was 'in French territory'. This allegation has been ridiculed by Madar's lawyer, who remarked that 350 million online followers were already aware of the star's whereabouts. The night of the robbery could have gone very differently had Kardashian joined her sister Kourtney and gone clubbing, an idea she entertained before deciding to stay in the hotel, the court heard last week. Her designated driver, Michael Madar -- whose company was billing the Kardashian/West couple up to 400,000 euros per year to provide security -- had been working non-stop for 21 hours and asked a colleague to replace him for the trip to the night club. The replacement, Mohammed Q., and a Kardashian bodyguard, Pascal D., rushed back to the hotel after Kardashian tried to call them and then failed to pick up her phone when they called back. 'I saw that the lift was on the first floor, where Kim was staying,' Pascal D. told the court. When he found her, Kardashian 'was in a terrible state. She was crying hysterically', he told the court. 'I asked what had happened, and she said she'd been robbed.' Kardashian, her lawyers said, 'is genuinely grateful' for the way the French authorities have handled the investigation, showing her 'the utmost respect and consideration'. The US celebrity, sometimes described as being 'famous for being famous', became well known in the early 2000s through TV reality shows, before launching fashion brands and appearing in a number of films. She is among the world's most followed people on Instagram and X. She has been named among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, and among the most powerful women by Fortune magazine. The trial is set to close on May 23. burs/jh/sjw/gil
