In October 2016, in the early hours of the morning, reality TV star and business mogul Kim Kardashian was held at gunpoint in a luxury Paris apartment. The culprits? A masked gang of ageing thieves, some in their 60s and early 70s. Almost a decade later, the so-called “grandpa robbers” are finally about to stand trial for their crimes. And, in a recent development, one of the men at the centre of this heist, Yunice Abbas, has broken his silence, revealing intimate details of the botched robbery in a tell-all memoir.

Kardashian’s harrowing experience has been debated and dissected for years now, with the public regularly trying to comprehend how the assailants ever gained access to the celebrity in the first place. Now, the information we’ve all been longing for has finally been revealed.

Yunice Abbas, a 62-year-old with a criminal record stretching back decades and one of the central figures in the Kardashian heist, is currently promoting his book titled J’ai Séquestré Kim Kardashian, or I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian. In the tell-all memoir, Abbas explains that on the morning after the robbery, he was at home catching up on sleep. His wife woke him with a glare, pointing towards the TV, which depicted news outlets reporting on a massive story: American megastar Kim Kardashian had been robbed at gunpoint in Paris.

The star’s jewellery, worth a staggering $10 million, including a $4 million diamond ring from then-husband Kanye West, had been stolen. Abbas recalled in his memoir that his wife turned to him, visibly alarmed, and said, “This has you written all over it.” And she wasn’t wrong.

In the early hours on 3 October 2016, a gang of thieves in fake police uniforms slipped into the discreet Hôtel de Pourtalès in Paris’s upscale Madeleine district. Their target: Suite No. 1, where Kim Kardashian was staying during Paris Fashion Week.

At around 3 am, they handcuffed the night receptionist (an Algerian PhD student picking up extra shifts) and forced him to escort them to Kardashian’s private apartment. Inside, Kim, dressed in just a bathrobe, was unwinding alone. She heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. Something felt wrong.

Panicked, Kardashian tried to dial 911, but it didn’t work outside the US. Just as she attempted to reach her bodyguard, who had gone out with her sister Kourtney to a nightclub, the men stormed in, shoving her onto the bed and shouting in broken English.

Kardashian later told David Letterman that during the altercation, there was a moment where she truly believed she was about to be sexually assaulted, or worse. Thankfully, the assailants zip-tied her wrists and ankles, gagged her with duct tape, and dragged her into the bathroom, leaving her there while they escaped.

The robbers snatched what they came for, millions in jewellery, including the $4 million engagement ring West had given her, plus €1,000 in cash. Then, just as quickly, they vanished—some on bikes, others on foot—into the quiet Paris streets.

For Yunice Abbas, the Kardashian heist was meant to be his retirement send-off—a final score before quitting the game. However, sloppy planning, outdated methods, and modern police technology would ultimately unravel the entire scheme.

By early 2017, just three months after the crime, French authorities arrested Abbas and several other suspects. Ten people will now stand trial in Paris, with five accused of direct involvement in the heist and five more alleged accessories. Most of them were born in the 1950s, leading French media to coin the nickname “Les Papys Voleurs”, aka the Grandpa Robbers.

Two members of the gang, Abbas and Aomar Ait Khedache (68), known as ‘Omar the Old’, have confessed. One suspect died, and another, aged 81, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to dementia.

Far from a cinematic, Ocean’s Eleven-style heist, this crime was riddled with errors. Abbas fell off his bike during the getaway, dropping a bag of jewellery. The next morning, a passerby found a diamond-encrusted necklace and wore it to work before realising it was part of the Kardashian haul.

Paris was also on high alert after terror attacks the year before, with CCTV cameras saturating the area. DNA traces and mobile phone data soon led authorities to their doors.

Patricia Tourancheau, a veteran crime reporter and author of Kim and the Grandpa Robbers, noted that the thieves underestimated modern forensic science. “They didn’t take into account the progress made by police techniques, which can now find micro traces of DNA anywhere,” she explained, highlighting how advancements in technology ultimately helped investigators crack the case.

One of the most explosive elements of the Paris robbery case is how the robbers tracked Kim Kardashian. According to both Abbas and Khedache, Kardashian herself gave them everything they needed on Instagram.

Court documents claim the crew followed her social media posts to learn her exact location and schedule. What wasn’t clear, though, was how they knew she’d be alone in her suite that night.

Authorities believe Gary Madar, whose brother Michael had provided the Kardashians with transport for years, may have tipped them off. Madar denies all involvement.

After the heist, Omar the Old made his way to Antwerp, Belgium, a well-known hotspot for the global diamond trade. It’s believed that many of the stolen jewels were either melted down or broken up to avoid detection. Yunice Abbas, for his part, allegedly received only €75,000 for his involvement in the crime.

But what about the infamous $4 million ring, Kim Kardashian’s iconic engagement gift from Kanye West? The gang claims it was simply too “hot” to sell, making it too risky to move.

Kim Kardashian was traumatised by the event, leading to a significant shift in her public presence. She stepped away from social media, stopped flaunting expensive items online, and ramped up her security.

As reported by the BBC, Tourancheau added that the heist was less about criminal brilliance and more about desperation.

“These aren’t elite burglars,” she said. “They’re broke old men with outdated plans. They fled on bikes, while she travels by private jet.

Tourancheau paints them not as masterminds but remnants of a bygone criminal era—guys who once robbed banks and post offices, then pivoted to jewellery as times changed.

In mid-May 2025, Kim Kardashian is expected to take the stand in Paris. Though cameras aren’t allowed in French courts, her appearance will undoubtedly draw global media attention.

Abbas, now 71, wrote in his memoir that he hopes the judges won’t be swayed by her fame. Still, he’s resigned to the outcome. On the last day of the trial, he plans to bring a duffle bag—ready to go to jail.

As Abbas himself put it, “The problem with the past is that it sticks with you as long as you live.”