Defence attorneys asked the court for leniency, citing the defendants’ age and health. But prosecutors insist that criminal experience, not frailty, defined the gang, ITV News Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda explains
Eight people have been found guilty over the 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian, who was tied up at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room as thieves stole £4.7 million in jewellery.
Nearly a decade after one of the most daring celebrity heists in modern French history, a Paris court delivered its verdict on Friday evening, clearing two of the 10 defendants.
Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, a convicted veteran of Paris’s criminal underworld and the alleged ringleader, was one of the eight who were found guilty.
He received the toughest sentence: eight years in prison, with five suspended. Three others facing the most serious charges were each given seven years, also with five suspended.
With time already served in pretrial detention, none of those found guilty will return to prison, and all walked free. The trial was heard by a panel of three judges and six jurors.
Despite this, the chief judge said that Kardashian had been traumatised by the robbery in her hotel during Fashion Week in 2016.
“You caused harm,” the judge said. “You caused fear.”
Kardashian, who wasn’t present for the verdict, said in a statement issued afterwards that she was “deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case”.
“The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family. 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.”
Khedache’s DNA, found on the zip-ties used to bind Kardashian, cracked open the case. Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices, and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium. The loot was never found.
He claims he was only a foot soldier. He blamed a mysterious “X” or “Ben” – someone prosecutors say never existed. Khedache asked for “a thousand pardons,” communicated via a written note, according to French media.
Other defendants also expressed remorse for the robbery.
The accused became known in France as “les papys braqueurs” – the grandpa robbers. Some arrived in court in orthopaedic shoes, and one leaned on a cane. Some read the proceedings from a screen, hard of hearing and nearly mute. But prosecutors warned observers not to be seduced by soft appearances.
Kardashian’s testimony earlier this month was the emotional high point. In a packed courtroom, she recounted how she was thrown onto a bed, zip-tied, and had a gun pressed to her on the night of Oct. 2, 2016.
“I absolutely did think I was going to die,” she said. “I have babies. I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”
She was dragged into a marble bathroom and told to stay silent. When the robbers fled, she freed herself by scraping the tape on her wrists off against the sink, then she hid with her friend, shaking and barefoot.
She said Paris had once been her sanctuary – a city she would wander at 3 a.m., window shopping, stopping for hot chocolate. That illusion was shattered.
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The robbery echoed far beyond the City of Light. It forced a recalibration of celebrity behaviour in the digital age. For years, Kardashian had curated her life like a showroom: geo-tagged, diamond-lit, public by design. But this was the moment the showroom turned into a crime scene.
In her words, “People were watching… They knew where I was.”
Afterwards, she stopped posting her location in real time. She stripped her social media feed of lavish gifts and vanished from Paris for years. Other stars followed suit. Privacy became a luxury.
Defence attorneys asked the court for leniency, citing the defendants’ age and health. But prosecutors insist that criminal experience, not frailty, defined the gang.
Even for France’s painstakingly thorough legal system, observers commented about how long it took for the case to be tried.
Kardashian, who once said, “this experience really changed everything,” hopes the verdict will offer a measure of closure.
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