In 2016, “Grandpa Gang” is said to have tied up Kim Kardashian during Fashion Week and stole millions of dollars of jewels.
A trial began Monday on 2016 robber group called the “Grandpa Gang” allegedly tied Kim Kardashian to his bedroom during Fashion Week and stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
The accused, who was 60 at the time, appeared one after another in court in Paris to confirm his identity and occupation.
The stolen gem is estimated to be $6 million, making the robbery considered the biggest robber Paris has seen for decades to target individuals. The trial, which is scheduled to run until May 23rd, is expected to attract public attention. Kardashian is scheduled to testify directly at the trial on May 13th.
“Mr. Kardashian has reserved the testimony of the court and the ju judge and would not want to go into further detail at this time,” Kardashian’s lawyer said. “She has great respect and admiration for the French judicial system and has been treated with great respect by the French authorities.”
In an interview and a reality TV show about her family, Kardashian says it’s scary, thinking that criminals will be raped and killed when they break into her bedroom and point her a gun at her.
Kim Kardashian will be attending the 2022 White House Correspondents Association Dinner held at Washington Hilton, Washington on April 30, 2022. Paul Morigi/Getty Images
It will be a trial in which 10 people (9 men and one woman) are standing. Of the 10 defendants, five face-armed robbers and lures accusations, and potentially faces could be sentenced to life in prison. Others are accused of robbery of weapons or accomplices of illegal possession.
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Yunice Abbas, 71, is just one of two people who allowed him to participate in the robbery.
Abbas admitted that he tied up the hotel concierge and stayed behind in the first floor reception area as an observation deck. He said he was unarmed and although he did not personally threaten Kardashian, he admitted that he shared responsibility for the crime.
Proceeds from his books are frozen until the outcome of the trial comes.
He was arrested in January 2017 and spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision.
Yunice Abbas, one of the men accused of Kim Kardashian’s 2016 armed robbery, will respond in an interview with the Associated Press on April 22, 2025 in Paris. Thibault Camus/AP Photo
Tied with plastic cables and tape
Investigations say the robber held the concierge in the gorgeous building at a muzzle and forced the person to lead him to a Kardashian hotel room.
Kardashian recalls her experience in a 2020 interview with David Letterman on the Late Show, and during that time she shed tears as she remembered the incident.
“They kept saying, ‘Ring, ring,'” Kardashian said.
“I kept looking at the concierge,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Are we going to die? I have a child, I have a baby, I have a husband, I have a family… I have to go home.’ ”
She said she was tied up with plastic cables and tape while the intruder searched the room for a gem that included her $4 million engagement ring.
The DNA traces found in the plastic band helped police make their arrests a few months after January 2017.
Joseph Hazan, lawyer for Aomar Aït Khedache, one of Kim Kardashian’s men accused of armed robbery in 2016, will speak to the press on April 28, 2025 at the Judicial Palace in Paris. Aurelien Morissard/AP Photo
Denial and apologise
According to Abbas, minutes after the attack began, his accomplice came down from the Kardashian room and gave him a bag of jewels.
Everyone took off on foot or on bike.
Abbas said that when he rode the bike, a bag containing the jewels got caught in the front wheel, causing him to fall onto the ground and spill the contents of the bag. “I picked up the jewel and left,” he said.
The next morning, passersby spotted a diamond-covered cross in the street and handed it over to the police. This was the only jewel from a robber who had recovered to date.
Abbas said he didn’t know that Kardashian was the target at the time of the robbery.
“I was told about a celebrity, a rapper’s wife, and that’s all the information I had,” he said. “Until the next morning, when I heard about influencers on TV. That’s when I realized who she was.”
In an interview with French media, Abbas said he wanted to apologise to the Kardashian, feeling sorry for what he did.
He said he would detail his role during the trial. This is a procedure in France that is reserved for the most serious crimes carried out in ju-degree, but he will not condemn his accomplice.
“I’m only an outsider. I’m not the one who masterminded the case. I share the responsibility,” he said.
Abdelamane Watiki, who works as a hotel receptionist and allegedly detained at gunpoint by robbery during a 2016 armed robbery by Kim Kardashian, arrived at the Judicial Palace in Paris on April 28, 2025. Aurelien Morissard/AP Photo
Most of the suspects have denied involvement except that they are called “Old Omar,” with the exception of the allegations of Abbas and 68-year-old Aomer Ait Quedake.
Khedache’s DNA was found on a tape using Kardashian as a gag. His lawyer, Frank Belton, said his client would “apologise and explain how it actually happened, how he was contacted, and how the event unfolded in the end.”
Deaf Khedache answers court questions in writing.
Didier Debrec, 69, known as “blue eyes,” is the second robber suspected of entering the flat. He is found to have many telephone communications with the other defendants and was filmed on CCTV cameras, but he denies all involvement.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
