Nearly a decade after the high-profile robbery that shook global celebrity culture, a French court has found eight individuals guilty in connection to the 2016 armed theft of Kim Kardashian’s $6 million worth of jewelry.
In a verdict delivered on Friday in Paris, the court convicted the alleged ringleader Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, along with seven accomplices, for their roles in the brazen heist that occurred inside the luxurious Hôtel de Pourtalès during Paris Fashion Week. Two of the ten defendants were acquitted.
The robbers, disguised as police officers, stormed Kardashian’s hotel suite in the early hours of October 3, 2016. They zip-tied and gagged the reality TV star before locking her in the bathroom and fleeing with her jewelry collection, which included a $4 million engagement ring.
Only one item—a diamond-encrusted cross—was ever recovered, having been dropped during their escape.
Sentences handed down on Friday ranged from prison terms to fines, though the full details of the penalties are yet to be released.
Khedache, whose DNA on the restraints used to bind Kardashian helped crack the case, faces a proposed 10-year sentence. Prosecutors presented wiretap evidence of him coordinating the operation, including plans to fence the stolen jewels in Belgium.
Despite his central role, Khedache claimed he was merely a “foot soldier,” deflecting blame to a mysterious figure known as “X” or “Ben”—a person prosecutors assert never existed. In court, he offered “a thousand pardons” via a written statement.
Earlier in the week, Kardashian, confronted her alleged attacker during her emotional testimony. Though absent on Friday, she had looked Khedache in the eye as a letter he wrote was read aloud in court. “I forgive you,” she said. “But it doesn’t change the feelings and the trauma… my life was forever changed.”
The mother of four recounted the harrowing moments of the robbery, fearing for her life. “I absolutely did think I was going to die,” she told the court, adding that she pleaded for her life by shouting, “I have babies.”
Kardashian’s attorney, Michael Rhodes, said she expressed “tremendous appreciation” for the French judicial system and was grateful for the respectful treatment she received throughout the proceedings.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Dubbed the “grandpa robbers” due to their advanced ages, more than 17 suspects were initially arrested in the years-long investigation.
The trial, which began after formal charges were brought in 2021, has now reached a landmark conclusion with justice served—albeit years after the traumatic ordeal.
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