Accused robber Yunice Abbas is pictured on April 28 in Paris, France.Tom Nicholson/Getty Images
A group of men dubbed the “grandpa robbers” went on trial on Monday on charges of robbing reality TV star Kim Kardashian at gunpoint and stealing jewellery worth millions of euros during Paris Fashion Week nearly a decade ago.
Several of the accused were of or near retirement age at the time of the 2016 heist, which was considered when it happened to be the biggest robbery involving an individual in France for more than 20 years.
Kardashian will travel to Paris in May to give evidence in the trial, which will run for almost a month, her lawyer said.
The suspects, wearing ski masks and clothes with police markings, tied up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape, before making off with a $4 million engagement ring given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), and other jewels, according to investigators.
“They kept on saying ‘the ring, the ring’,” Kardashian told David Letterman in a 2020 interview, during which she fought back tears as she recalled her fears of being raped that night.
“I kept looking at the concierge,” she continued, referring to the concierge of the exclusive building who had been forced at gunpoint to lead the gang to her apartment. “I was like, ‘Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children, I have babies … I have to get home’.”
DNA traces found on plastic bands used to tie the wrists of Kardashian helped police make arrests the following January.
The main suspects are in their late sixties or seventies, and could face life imprisonment.
In total, 10 people will be tried by the criminal court. Five of them face armed robbery and kidnapping charges. The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorized possession of a weapon.
One of the accused, Yunice Abbas, 71, has admitted his participation in the robbery – writing a book about his role. Abbas, who had spent 20 years of his working life in jail, told French television channel TF1 the “big job was to be the last.”
He said he had been told a big diamond was the target but not the “The Kardashians” star.
Chloe Arnoux, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache – nicknamed “Omar the Old” and accused of being the group’s ringleader – which he denies – said her client could end up spending the rest of his life in prison due to his age.
She said in an interview with BFM TV that he had written to Kardashian to apologize, but his letter had been intercepted by officials.
As the robbers escaped on foot or with bikes, they lost some of the jewellery, including a cross with six diamonds, which a passerby found in the street and brought to the police. But most of the jewels, including the $4 million ring, were never found.
One of the accused has died and another is too ill to be put on trial at this time, prosecutors said.
