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Tag: Jewellery

  • Kardashian ready to ‘confront’ her Paris attackers in court

    Kardashian ready to ‘confront’ her Paris attackers in court

    Kim Kardashian is ready to “confront” her Paris attackers as the US celebrity prepares to testify in person next week at a trial over an armed robbery of her jewellery in 2016, her lawyers said Monday.

    “She is committed to attending in person the trial and to confronting those who attacked her. She will do so with dignity and courage,” her French lawyers Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout told AFP.

    In late April, 10 suspects went on trial in Paris over the 2016 robbery of the US celebrity, which saw some $10 million worth of jewellery stolen from the reality TV star and influencer.

    On the night of October 2-3, 2016, Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive hotel in central Paris. She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped up.

    Kardashian, who has been keeping abreast of developments during the first week of the trial, is due to testify on May 13 in a court appearance certain to attract huge media attention.

    The lawyers, who are representing Kardashian alongside her American counsel Michael Rhodes, declined to comment on the content of her upcoming testimony.

    “We want to give everyone the opportunity to hear her testimony in her own words so we won’t be commenting on the substance of what she will say,” they said in a statement.

    During what the French press has dubbed the “the heist of the century”, masked men walked away from the Parisian hotel with millions of dollars worth of jewels in 2016, including a diamond ring gifted by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West.

    The theft was the biggest against a private individual in France in the past 20 years.

    Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records and underworld nicknames like “Old Omar” and “Blue Eyes” that recall the old-school French bandits of 1960s and 1970s film noirs.

    Kardashian, her lawyers said, “is genuinely grateful for the way in which the French authorities conducted the investigation that led to the discovery of the persons facing charges in this trial.

    “Throughout the process, the utmost respect and consideration has been given for Ms. Kardashian,” they said.

    She “will cooperate with the judicial process and answer all questions,” her lawyers added.

    The trial is due to last until May 23.

  • ‘Grandpa robbers’ go on trial for Kim Kardashian heist in Paris

    ‘Grandpa robbers’ go on trial for Kim Kardashian heist in Paris

    A group of suspects nicknamed the “grandpa robbers” goes on trial at the end of April, charged with stealing jewellery worth millions from US reality TV star Kim Kardashian in Paris in 2016.

    In what the French press has called “the heist of the century”, masked men walked away from the luxury Parisian hotel where Kardashian was staying in October 2016 with millions of dollars worth of jewels, including a diamond ring gifted by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West.

    Kardashian will testify in person at the trial, which opens on April 28, her US lawyer Michael Rhodes said last week.

    Ten people will be in the dock and the verdict is expected on May 23, with Kardashian set to appear on May 13, according to a provisional schedule.

    In what has been called the biggest French hold-up targeting an individual in 20 years, Kardashian was robbed of jewellery estimated at 10 million euros ($11.4 million at current rates) while she was staying at a luxury residence during Paris fashion week.

    Among the suspects arrested four months later in Paris and in the south of France is Aomar Ait Khedache, known as “Old Omar”, 68, who has admitted to his participation in the heist, but denies the prosecution’s accusation that he was also the ringleader.

    Two investigating magistrates ordered the suspects to stand trial by jury — which in France is reserved for the most serious crimes — on charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and membership of a criminal gang.

    On the night of October 2-3, 2016, several men, some impersonating police officers, entered the hotel where Kardashian, who was then 35, was staying during Fashion Week.

    The star had attended a Givenchy show before returning to the hotel around midnight without her bodyguard who was with her sister Kourtney, also a media personality and socialite, who had gone clubbing.

    – An ‘easy’ heist –
    Two of the intruders put guns to her head and one, Kardashian later told detectives, addressed her “with a very strong French accent” in English, telling her to hand over her diamond engagement ring.

    That ring from West, which the influencer had shown off extensively on social media, was estimated to be worth four million dollars.

    The intruders then tied her up, gagged her and carried her into the bathroom.

    Three men meanwhile kept watch at the reception, with one waiting at the wheel of a getaway car.

    The entire robbery lasted around 10 minutes.

    Kardashian’s frequent posts about her wealth, personal life and whereabouts may have facilitated the perpetrators’ actions.

    Ait Khedache later told investigators that the job had been “easy”, and nothing like a regular armed robbery.

    In addition to the ring, which featured a near-flawless 18.88-carat diamond, the group made off with several more pieces of gold and diamond jewellery, including a gold Rolex watch.

    One of the alleged robbers, Yunice Abbas, now 71, fleeing the scene on a bicycle, dropped a diamond-encrusted cross worth 30,000 euros, which was found by a passer-by a few hours later.

    The suspected thieves lost a few more items while on the run, but the bulk of the bounty has never been found and is believed to have been sold in Belgium.

    Abbas later wrote a book, called “I kidnapped Kim Kardashian”, despite also claiming that he was just one of the lookouts without laying eyes on the star.

    Another suspect, 69-year-old Didier Dubreucq, also came to the scene by bike and is accused of having been in Kardashian’s room, which he denies.

    The ageing suspects had, according to prosecutors, hoped to make a criminal comeback with the heist.

    The suspects were identified mostly thanks to their DNA.

    Of the 12 people originally charged over the robbery, only 10 will be present at the trial after one suspect died and another, 80-year-old Pierre Bouianere, was declared unable to participate in proceedings for health reasons.

    He will be tried separately.