Kim Kardashian Testifies in Trial Over Jewelry Heist, Wears Balenciaga

Nearly nine years after being held at gunpoint at the Hôtel de Pourtalès in Paris, Kim Kardashian returned to the French capital to testify about the robbery during a trial at the Palais de Justice court on Tuesday. A group of 10 people is accused of robbing the reality star in October 2016, stealing an estimated $10 million in jewelry and cash and a $4 million engagement ring from her hotel room. Two of the defendants, Yunice Abbas and Aomar Ait Khedache, have admitted to the charges against them. The rest deny them.

Kardashian arrived at court accompanied by her mother, Kris Jenner. The cofounder of Skims was dressed in a black suit jacket with a long black skirt by Balenciaga. She also sported a $1.5 million diamond necklace by Samer Halimeh New York, crafted in 18-karat white gold and featuring a total of 80 diamonds.

Inside the courtroom, Kardashian sat next to Simone Harouche, her childhood friend, who was at the hotel on the day of the robbery.

After being called by the presiding judge, David De Pas, to the witness stand, Kardashian began by telling the court that her trip to Paris in 2016 “changed everything.”

Visibly emotional, Kardashian recounted the events on the day of the robbery, saying her sister Kourtney Kardashian, Harouche and Jenner were out for the night. “We were leaving the next morning, and I was just packing up at 3 a.m. I was just getting ready to go to bed,” she said. The reality star said she heard noises on the stairs and called out for Kourtney, but no one answered. Then, two people came into her bedroom dressed as police officers, forcing the night receptionist, Abderrahmane Ouatiki, to act as an interpreter between the gang and Kardashian.

“I obviously was very confused when they first walked in. I had to make sense of what was happening.…I was just about to fall asleep,” she said, adding that she was “naked with just a robe on.”

Kardashian said she was confused by the interaction with Ouatiki, who wasn’t fluent in English, and she wasn’t sure if he was part of the gang or not. “I understand now how shocked he was and he was just a victim like myself and we were in this together,” she said.

The reality star said the robbers were repeatedly asking for the “ring.” “The gentleman found the ring that was next to my bed,” she said. “The taller one was looking through my stuff and had found the jewelry box, and he said: ‘aha, aha!’ — excited and grateful that he found more jewelry.”

According to Kardashian, she was pushed onto her bed and became “pretty hysterical.” “I said to the concierge, ‘I have babies, tell them, I just have to make it home,’” she said, adding that the concierge replied to her, “I don’t know, I don’t know if we’re going to die.”  

Kardashian said one of the men put tape around her hands and mouth, while another held a gun up to her. “He grabs my legs and pulls me,” she said. “I’m naked and my everything is exposed. I was sure that I was going to be raped,” she said.

“At that point, I was sure that’s when they were going to shoot me,” Kardashian said. “So I said a prayer for my family and my mom and my sister and best friend.”

The entrepreneur added that she thought her sister Kourtney would be back soon, and feared she would find her body. “I would be shot dead on the bed, and she would see that and have that memory forever.”

The court’s presiding judge asked Kardashian if she thought she was going to die. “I absolutely did think I was gonna die,” she said.

According to Kardashian, she was put on the bathroom floor by one of the robbers before they left the scene. “Then I waited a few minutes. I wasn’t sure if they were gonna get something and come back — but after a few minutes I didn’t hear anything,” she said, adding that she rubbed the zip ties around her wrists on the tape to untie herself.

With her ankles still tied, Kardashian went looking for Harouche, who was staying on the floor below and helped her cut off the zip ties. Harouche went to call for help, while Kardashian hid in the bushes outside while she called her mom.

The influencer described feeling “confused” when the police arrived. “I didn’t know who to trust,” she said. Kardashian said she developed a “phobia of going out” following the robbery and now has four and six security guards at her home in California during the night “just for me to feel safe.”

The “Grandpa Robbers”

Many of the suspected individuals involved in the robbery were born in the 1950s, which has prompted the French media to refer to them as the “grandpa robbers.” One individual has passed away, while another, who is 81 years old, will be excused due to suffering from advanced dementia.

Kardashian was asked about her reaction when she was shown pictures of the suspects by French investigators. “I thought they were younger,” she says.

Khedache, one of the two defendants who has admitted guilt, wrote Kardashian a letter when he was arrested in 2017, asking for her forgiveness. “Madame, after seeing you in a French TV show and seeing your emotion and realizing what psychological harm I did to you, I decided to write to you. Not with the aim of getting forgiveness…I want to tell you human to human how I regret my actions and how I was touched to see you cry.…I am sorry for the pain I caused you, your husband, your children and those who love you,” he wrote.

“I do appreciate the letter for sure. I do appreciate it, I forgive you,” Kardashian said.

Another suspect, Abbas, who wrote a book about the heist, also showed regret about the robbery. “Listening to the trauma you [sic] really regret your actions.…I beg you to accept my apologies,” he said.

Following listening to Kardashian’s testimony for more than two hours, the proceedings have been paused for a brief intermission.

The trial began in late April 2025 and involves 10 defendants — nine men and one woman — facing charges of armed robbery, kidnapping and related offenses. There is no confirmed date yet for the final verdict or sentencing.