The Paris Robbery
Kardashian had traveled to Paris for Fashion Week alongside her mom, Kris Jenner, and her sisters, Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner. They were taking advantage of the privacy of the No Name Hotel, an exclusive, luxurious residence for celebrities and other wealthy visitors that doesn't even have signage on the outside.
The Kardashians traveled with a bodyguard named Pascal Duvier, but on the night of October 2, he accompanied Kourtney and Kendall as they went out for the evening. Kim wanted to stay behind, so she was left alone in the room she was sharing with Kourtney.
Around 2:30 a.m. Paris time, Kim was dozing off when she heard noises outside the door. She said in her testimony that she believed it was Kourtney coming home, so she called out, "Hello?"
The door burst open and several masked men (reports of the exact number vary), dressed in all-black police uniforms, came in, dragging hotel concierge Abderrahmane Ouatiki in handcuffs. They demanded money and Kardashian’s 200-carat diamond ring that had been a gift from West. They ultimately made off with more than $6 million in jewels—including a watch gifted to her by her late father, Robert Kardashian—most of which has not been recovered.
"I thought it was some sort of terrorist attack," the reality star testified, explaining that she went for her phone, but she didn't know the French equivalent of 911. With a gun to her back, one man threw her on the bed and bound her hands and feet.
She was wearing a bathrobe with nothing underneath, and at one point the robe fell open. She believed she was about to be sexually assaulted, and she pleaded with the intruders.
"I have babies," she remembered saying. "They can take everything. I just have to make it home." She believed she was going to die.
One of the robbers told her she'd be fine if she stayed quiet, and he taped her mouth shut before carrying her to the bathroom, according to Kardashian’s testimony. After the men left with all of her jewelry, Kardashian was able to free her hands by rubbing the tape against the sink. With her ankles still bound together, she found her friend and stylist Simone Harouche, and they hid in bushes until help arrived.
Who Robbed Kim Kardashian?
Kardashian left Paris the next morning and headed back to her home in Los Angeles as Parisian officials started their investigation. She gave a statement to police and said she believed the robbers struck that night because she had posted on Snapchat that everyone else was going out while she was staying behind.
Security camera footage led authorities to discover that the men had inconspicuously ridden away on bicycles and not in a getaway car, and they began to put together a surprising picture of this criminal gang that came to be known as the “Grandpa Robbers.” They believed that the attackers were all older, seasoned criminals born in the 1950s, and that they had used old-school tactics to take advantage of Kardashian's online footprint.
Her regular social media posts allowed anyone to follow her every move, and while that had long been a key part of her career, she no longer felt safe sharing so much. She stopped posting in real time, stopped keeping jewelry in her home and stopped wearing jewelry for years. She also increased security and posted bodyguards at her home at all times, and weathered weeks of baseless accusations from both the public and her own husband that the robbery was staged, or that she had lied about the whole thing.
French police got lucky when they found a trace of DNA on one of the zip ties, and it matched a known criminal named Aomar Ait Khedache. They also suspected Yunice Abbas and Didier Dubreucq, and by January 2017, they had arrested a total of 17 people in connection with the case.
Abbas embraced his part in the heist and even wrote a 2021 book called I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian. He also appeared in the 2025 documentary series Inside the Kim Kardashian Heist and claimed that he had no idea who Kardashian was until the story hit the news the next day He shared how botched his getaway was as bike got a flat tire and crashed, sending stolen jewelry flying into the street, and then he had to dispose of Kardashian's easily trackable phone, which they hadn't intended to steal. He only realized his mistake with the phone when it rang with a phone call from singer Tracey Chapman.
Kim Kardashian's Long-Awaited Trial and Verdict
More than eight years after the attack, Kardashian was forced to relive the events of the robbery when the trial began in March 2025. Arrests were made in 2017, but Kardashian's trial was delayed by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021-2022 trial of Islamic State terrorists who had attacked Paris in 2015.
After one suspect died and another was diagnosed with dementia, 10 people faced charges surrounding the robbery including Khedache, Abbas, Dubreucq and Marc-Alexandre Boyer, and eight were found guilty. Investigators believed that Khedache was the ringleader of the gang, though he has always denied that. Khedache, Abbas and Dubreucq were all found guilty of theft with a weapon and holding the victim in sequestration without voluntary liberation. Abbas and Dubreucq were also found guilty of conspiracy.
Khedache's son, Harminy Ait Khedache, was found guilty of complicity in escape and committing larceny with the threat of a weapon for being the gang's alleged getaway driver. Khadache's girlfriend, Christiane Glotin, was convicted of conspiracy, and Boyer was convicted of larceny with a weapon, possession of an illegal weapon and participation in a criminal conspiracy. Francois Deleporte was found guilty of forgery, and Florus Heroui was found guilty of possessing an illegal weapon. Heroui was found not guilty of conspiracy and complicity in the escape.
All except Heroui were given prison sentences between four and eight years, but as long as they can stay out of trouble with the law, none will return to prison after having served time since their arrest in 2017. Kardashian, who had by that point spent years visiting U.S. prisons and studying to become a lawyer, was satisfied with the result.
On September 15, 2026, Kardashian was awarded 1 euro, or $1.15, as compensation for the robbery, which is the amount she requested. Ouataki received 109,516 euros, or $126,472, and the hotel was awarded 50,000 euros, or $57,741. Harouche was also awarded 1 euro, per his request.
"The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family," Kardashian said in a statement after the conviction. "While I'll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all. I remain committed to advocating for justice and promoting a fair legal system.”
