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Kim Kardashian robbery trial: 8 of 10 defendants found guilty – National TenX News
Eight defendants were convicted of crimes connected to the 2016 robbery of reality TV star Kim Kardashian nearly 10 years after the high-profile heist.
According to NBC News, two of the 10 defendants were acquitted on charges of planning and carrying out the armed robbery during Paris Fashion Week nine years ago.
A court in the French capital decided the verdict in the trial of the “grandpa robbers” accused of stealing millions of dollars of Kardashian’s jewelry.
The robbery was considered the biggest heist targeting an individual that Paris had seen in decades. The jury of six citizens conducted the trial, along with three magistrates — a procedure in France reserved for the most serious crimes.
The panel of three judges and six jurors needed a majority vote of seven to reach a decision. Kardashian wasn’t present Friday for the verdict, which was reached shortly after 8 p.m. local time or 2 p.m. ET.
Nine men and a woman stood accused of carrying out or aiding the crime, when the robbers, dressed as police, forced their way into the glamorous Hôtel de Pourtalès, bound Kardashian with zip ties and escaped with $6 million worth of her jewelry.
After delivering final statements in court, the defendants were dismissed Friday morning, with a verdict finally being delivered by the afternoon.
Aomar Aït Khedache, the alleged ringleader, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment but five of those are suspended.
Three others who were accused on the most serious charges got seven years, five of them suspended. With time already served in pretrial detention, none of those found guilty will go to prison, according to The Associated Press.
Defendant Aomar Aït Khedache is seen outside the Palais De Justice on April 28, 2025 in Paris, France.
Pierre Suu/Getty Images
Kardashian issued a statement after the ruling was announced.
“I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case,” she said. “The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family. While I’ll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all. I remain committed to advocating for justice, and promoting a fair legal system.”
Khedache’s DNA, found on the bands used to bind Kardashian, was a key breakthrough that helped crack open the case. Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium. A diamond-encrusted cross, dropped during the escape, was the only piece of jewelry ever recovered.
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Khedache said he was only a foot soldier. He blamed a mysterious “X” or “Ben” — someone prosecutors say never existed.
His lawyer pleaded for clemency, pointing to one of the trial’s most visceral moments — Kardashian’s earlier courtroom encounter with the man accused of orchestrating her ordeal.
“She looked at him when she came, she listened to the letter he had written to her, and then she forgave him,” lawyer Franck Berton told The Associated Press.
“I do appreciate the letter, I forgive you,” Kardashian told Khedache. “But it doesn’t change the feelings and the trauma and the fact that my life was forever changed.”
Kardashian testified on May 13 in a packed Paris courthouse and told the jury that she thought she was going to be sexually assaulted during the 2016 heist.
“I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me,” she told a Paris court Tuesday. “I absolutely did think I was going to die.”
Kardashian, who was tearful at times, said she was getting ready for bed when she heard loud footsteps ascending the stairs to her hotel room, telling the court that at first she thought it was her sister Kourtney and a friend returning from a Paris Fashion Week event in the early hours of Oct. 3.
She recalled calling out to ask who was there before masked men entered the room.
“I obviously was very confused. I had to make sense of what was happening. I was just about to fall asleep, naked with a robe on,” she told the court.
“Honestly, a lot of terrorist attacks were happening in the world, and I thought it was some sort of terrorist attack, and I didn’t immediately understand it was for my jewelry.”
This court sketch made on May 13, 2025 in Paris shows US celebrity Kim Kardashian (C), next to co-accused Aomar Ait Khedache, testifying before the Assize Court for the trial over the 2016 robbery.
AFP) (Photo by BENOIT PEYRUCQ/AFP via Getty Images
She said the suspects arrived at her hotel dressed as police officers and held the concierge hostage. He was dragged into her room, handcuffed, according to Kardashian.
One attacker began gesturing at her diamond ring.
“He said, ‘Ring! Ring!’ and he pointed to his hand,” she recalled.
Kardashian grabbed her phone to call the police, but didn’t know the French emergency number. She then tried to contact her sister and bodyguard, but was stopped by one of the masked assailants.
The men dragged her to the bathroom, she said, where they taped her mouth and told her she would not be harmed as long as she did not make any noise.
She recalled being handled aggressively by the suspects, but said they did not hit her.
“I was not hit. No, I was grabbed, and dragged into the other room, and thrown onto the floor, but wasn’t hit, no,” she told the court.
“[The gun] was pointed towards me to get me to go from room to room, and it was pointed toward me on the bed at the end.”
Her testimony marked a long-awaited moment in a trial that has captivated France and the wider world for almost a decade, and reignited discussions about the price of fame as well as the risks of living in the public eye.
Kardashian was joined by her mother, Kris Jenner, in the heavily guarded Parisian courtroom. Dressed in black with $1.5 million worth of diamonds draped around her neck — according to a press release her team sent to journalists at the trial, reports The Associated Press — her voice quivered as she thanked the French authorities for allowing her to “speak my truth.””
US celebrity Kim Kardashian (L) leaves with her mother Kris Jenner (R) the Assize Court after testifying in a trial over the 2016 robbery that saw her relieved of millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry at gunpoint in Paris, on May 13, 2025.
LEO VIGNAL/AFP via Getty Images
One of the suspects in the armed robbery said he regrets the “trauma” he caused Kardashian nearly nine years later.
Defendant Yunice Abbas said this was the first time he truly recognized the “trauma” he caused Kardashian, as the trial began on April 29 in the proceedings against 10 people charged in connection with the 2016 robbery.
“I regret it, not because I got caught, but because … there was a trauma,” Abbas, 72, told the jury.
Defendant Yunice Abbas arrives for the start of the tria for the 2016 robbery and kidnapping of US celebrity Kim Kardashian at the Assize Court of Paris, on April 28, 2025.
MAGALI COHEN/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
Abbas was the first of several defendants set to testify in the trial and had previously confessed to his role in the crime in his 2021 book, titled I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian, which came up during the testimony.
He claimed that he was not responsible for the title of the book and he said he was not involved in tying up Kardashian during the robbery, according to NBC News.
Abbas said he acted as a lookout at the reception area on the ground floor, ensuring the escape route was clear. He said he was unarmed and did not personally threaten Kardashian, but acknowledged he shared responsibility for the crime.
He was arrested in January 2017 and spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision. Abbas and nine others, called the “grandpa robbers” in local media due to their ages, are alleged to have played different roles in the heist.
According to Abbas, minutes after the raid started, his accomplices came down from Kardashian’s apartment and gave him a bag of jewelry.
As he was fleeing the scene on a bicycle, he saw a police car, but officers were not yet aware of the robbery. Abbas said that as he rode the bicycle, the bag containing the jewelry became caught in the front wheel and he fell to the ground, spilling the contents of the bag.
“I picked the jewels up and left,” he said.
The following morning, a passerby found a diamond-encrusted cross in the street and handed it to police. That was the only jewelry from the robbery that was ever recovered.
Abbas claimed he didn’t know Kardashian’s identity at the time of the robbery.
Twelve people were originally expected in the defendants’ box. One has died and another is seriously ill and can’t be tried. According to the investigation, five of the 10 defendants were present at the scene of the robbery
— With files from Global News’ Rachel Goodman and The Associated Press
World leaders are raising alarm after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on European allies in an effort to pressure Denmark into negotiations over Greenland.
The move is sparking protests across the Arctic and sharp rebukes from Europe and Canada.
On Saturday, thousands of people marched through snow and ice in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, chanting “Greenland is not for sale,” waving national flags.
Police described the demonstration as the largest they have ever seen in the city.
About 825 kilometres away, dozens of people rallied in Iqaluit, Nunavut, in a show of solidarity with Greenlanders.
“Greenland is owned by the Greenlandic people,” protesters chanted in Inuktut as they marched for an hour in freezing, windy conditions.
The protests came as Trump announced he would impose a 10 per cent import tax starting next month on goods from eight European countries.
These nations include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, because of their opposition to U.S. control of Greenland.
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The tariff would rise to 25 per cent on June 1 if no deal was reached for what Trump called the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
The president suggested the tariffs were leveraged to force talks over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that Trump says is vital to U.S. national security.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France stands firmly behind Greenland’s sovereignty and rejected the use of trade threats.
“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context,” Macron wrote on social media, adding that Europeans would respond “in a united and coordinated manner” if the measures are confirmed.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Greenland’s future is for Greenlanders and Denmark to decide.
“Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong,” Starmer said, adding the issue would be raised directly with the U.S. administration.
Bob Rae, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, also chimed in on Trump’s announcement.
The tariff threat could mark a significant rupture between the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Greenland already hosts the U.S.-run Pituffik Space Base under a 1951 defence agreement with Denmark, supporting missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance for the U.S. and NATO.
“There is no sign of the Trump war of aggression against Greenland and Denmark letting up. It is not about ‘security’ any more than Venezuela was about ‘narco-terrorism.’ They are both about seizing control and plunder.”
He further added, “No country, including my own, Canada, is safe or secure.”
The tariff threat could mark a significant rupture between the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Trump is expected to face questions about the proposed tariffs and Greenland later this week.
He is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, alongside several European leaders he has threatened with tariffs.
— With files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Doha on Saturday as part of a push to attract foreign investment and deepen Canada’s economic partnerships beyond its traditional allies.
Carney’s visit comes on the heels of his visit to China and follows the recent presentation of a new federal investment budget aimed at positioning Canada as a stable, attractive destination for global capital.
In a news conference on Saturday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada is working to broaden its economic relationships as global trade patterns shift.
Qatar is viewed by Ottawa as a strategic partner, with officials pointing to the country’s significant investment capacity and growing influence on the global stage.
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“We need to reduce our dependence and increase our self-reliance to find a strategic path forward,” Champagne said.
“Engaging with the Middle East and China is necessary for Canada, just like our European partners have done,” Champagne added. “We buy more from the U.S.A. than anywhere else, but the trading climate right now is different.”
The conference highlighted Canada’s industrial capacity and trade advantages as key selling points for potential investors.
Champagne also said international engagement is critical as Canada works to raise its profile among global investors.
“We are one of the G7s with very big industries. We build cars, planes, ships, we have an abundance of energy, and we are the only one with free trade with all G7,” Champagne said. “With the way the world is changing, you better diversify, supply chain is changing and we need to adapt.”
Prime Minister Carney is expected to meet with senior Qatari officials, including Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as representatives of the Qatar Investment Authority.
His office says the talks will focus on expanding trade access and forging partnerships in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, energy and defence.
The visit comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region, though officials say the schedule remains unchanged.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
The possibility of a forceful U.S. takeover of Greenland is raising many unprecedented questions — including how Canada, the European Union and NATO could respond or even retaliate against an ostensible ally.
A high-level meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and U.S. officials this week did not resolve the “fundamental disagreement” over the territory’s sovereignty but did set the stage for more talks. The White House made clear Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to control Greenland has not changed after the meeting.
“He wants the United States to acquire Greenland. He thinks it’s in our best national security to do that,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Denmark and European allies are sending more troops to the territory in a show of force and to display a commitment to Arctic security.
Experts say there are other, non-military measures available in the event of a U.S. annexation or invasion of Greenland, or which could at least be threatened to try and get Trump to back down.
Whether those economic measures are actually used is another matter, those experts say.
“I think it remains highly unlikely that we’ll get to that point where we have to seriously discuss consequences for a U.S. move on Greenland,” said Otto Svendsen, an associate fellow with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“So it remains contingency planning for a highly unlikely event. That being said … Denmark would certainly do everything in its power to rally a very robust European response.”
Here’s what that could entail.
EU trade, tech disruptions?
Experts agree the biggest pressure points that can be used in the U.S. surround trade and technology.
The European Parliament’s trade committee is currently debating whether to postpone implementing the trade deal signed between Trump and the EU last summer to protest the threats against Greenland, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Many lawmakers have complained that the deal is lopsided, with the EU required to cut most import duties while the U.S. sticks to a broad 15 per cent tariff for European goods.
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An even bolder move would be triggering the EU’s anti-coercion instrument — known as the “trade bazooka” — that would allow the bloc to hit non-member nations with tariffs, trade restrictions, foreign investment bans, and other penalties if that country is found to be using coercive economic measures.
Although the regulation defines coercion as “measures affecting trade and investment,” Svendsen said it could feasibly be used in a diplomatic or territorial dispute as well.
“EU lawyers have proven themselves to be very creative in recent years,” he said.
However, David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said in an email that economic measures against the U.S. are unlikely “given the massive asymmetry in the defence and economic relationship between the U.S.” and other western nations.
“Any kind of sanction against the U.S. doesn’t make sense for the same reason they can impose tariffs on others: they have the power,” Perry added.
Target U.S. tech companies?
The likeliest — and potentially least harmful — scenario for retaliation in the event of an attack on Greenland, Svendsen said, would be fines or bans against U.S. tech companies like Google, Meta and X operating in Europe.
That’s because the Trump administration has taken particular focus on preventing what they call “attacks” on American companies by foreign governments seeking to regulate their online content or tax their revenues, which has led to calls on Canada, Britain and the EU to repeal laws like digital services taxes.
“I think that would be a really smart and targeted way to get to economic interests very close to the president, while minimizing the direct impact on the on the European economy,” Svendsen said, calling such a move “low-hanging fruit.”
He also compared a future U.S. tech platform ban to how Europe moved to wean itself off Russian gas after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“If you told anyone back then that Europe would basically rid itself of its dependence on Russian gas basically within a two-year period … that would have been considered completely impossible,” he said.
“Weaning the European economy off of U.S. tech would certainly be painful in the short term, but they’ve proven that they can get off those dependencies quickly if there is political will behind it in the past.”
A U.S. hostile takeover of Greenland would mean the “end” of the NATO alliance, experts and European leaders have said.
Trump himself has acknowledged it could be a “choice” between preserving the alliance or acquiring Greenland.
There is no provision within the NATO founding treaty that addresses the possibility of a NATO member taking territory from another, and how the alliance should respond to such an act.
A NATO spokesperson told Global News it wouldn’t “speculate on hypothetical scenarios” when asked how it could potentially act.
“None of this would be actionable in a NATO sense,” Perry said. “It’s an alliance that’s organized to bind the U.S. to European security, and revolves around the U.S. So there’s no scenario of NATO doing that to the U.S.”
Denmark and other European nations could move to reduce or close U.S. military bases in their countries as a possible response, experts say.
Balkan Devlen, a a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and director of its Transatlantic Program, said in an interview that a U.S. annexation of Greenland would force Canada to focus entirely on boosting its defences in the Arctic.
That may include trying to decouple from NORAD, the joint northern defence network with the U.S., in favour of a purely domestic Arctic command, he said — although that process would take years and require Canada to increase defence spending even further.
“Never mind five per cent (of GDP) — we will probably need to go like seven, eight, nine per cent on defence spending to be able to do anything of that sort,” he said. “It’s not even clear that we’ll be able to have enough people to do that.”
Devlen added that any retaliatory action, whether military or financial, needs to be targeted and proportionate to what the U.S. does.
“The problem with nuclear options is that once you use it, it’s gone,” he said. “And if it doesn’t do the damage or make the change of behaviour on the other party, you’ve basically lost a lot of leverage and you might actually sustain a lot more loss yourself.”
“Unacceptable’: Allies react to Trump Greenland tariff threats – National TenX News
Canada talks trade with Qatar as Carney touches down in Doha – National TenX News
How could Canada, EU, NATO respond to a U.S. takeover of Greenland? – National TenX News
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