Ten on trial in Paris over 2016 gunpoint robbery of Kim Kardashian

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

Kardashian, 44, was traumatised and left Paris hours after the robbery on the night of October 2-3, 2016. She was not in court for the start of the trial but is due to testify on May 13 in a highly anticipated appearance.

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 gangsters of 1960s and 1970s films noirs.

The lawyer for one of the victims is eager to dispel the image of “kind old men” on trial.

“We need to end this myth of friendly, Robin Hood-style pensioners,” said Henri de Beauregard, who represents the night receptionist forced to accompany the robbers.

The nine men and one woman on trial, while charged in connection with the robbery, are not currently in custody.

Kardashian, then 35, was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped up. The theft was the biggest against a private individual in France in the past 20 years.

The trial will also go into how the perpetrators received the information as to where Kardashian was staying during Paris Fashion Week, and picked the very moment when her bodyguard was absent, accompanying her sister Kourtney to a night club.

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

– Haul never recovered –

The star was staying at an exclusive hotel in central Paris favoured by celebrities when two armed and masked men stormed into her room at around 3:00 am after arriving at the establishment by bicycle.

They shouted that they wanted the diamond engagement ring from her now ex-husband, the US rapper Kayne West.

Kardashian had been showing it off on her social media channels — it alone was valued at $4 million (3.5 million euros).

Defendant Aomar Ait Khedache (C) arrives for the start of the trial for the 2016 robbery and kidnapping of US celebrity Kim Kardashian at the Assize Court of Paris, on April 28, 2025. At the beginning of October 2016, the queen of influencers Kim Kardashian was robbed in her hotel room at the height of fashion week by elderly thugs who arrived on bicycles and disguised as police officers: the trial of this sensational nine million euro jewellery robbery opened in Paris on April 28, 2025. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

They made off with the ring among $10 million worth of jewels.

The only item recovered was a diamond necklace dropped in the street while the thieves escaped.

It all lasted just 10 minutes, with Kardashian’s bodyguard arriving to rescue his client after he was alerted