IT was one of the most shocking celebrity heists in showbiz history.
But while much has been written about Kim Kardashian’s trauma at the hands of five armed robbers who tied her up and robbed her in 2016, little is known about the man who was also held at gunpoint beside her: the hotel concierge, Abderrahmane Ouatiki.
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Now, in unprecedented detail, Abderrahmane has opened up about his experiences in the new documentary Inside The Kim Kardashian Heist, which airs today on Discovery+.
Reflecting on the horrifying event, which took place in the early hours of the morning on 3 October 2016, the former hotel employee says that – while it was a shocking moment in his life – the biggest trauma was to come, as police considered him a suspect who’d fed information to the robbers.
He was later exonerated, but not before having his phone wiretapped, and seeing his name dragged through the mud as a potential accomplice in a globally scrutinised crime story.
Abderrahmane, 48, tells the cameras: “I would say the night of the heist in my opinion was minor compared to the trauma of the media coverage, the fact that people are lying about you.
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“They lit a fuse that led towards me and made my life explode.”
Rewinding to the heist as we approach its nine-year-anniversary – and following the high-profile trial that took place earlier this year – the documentary takes us back to the days, weeks and months that followed.
It includes testimonies from a whole raft of people involved – including Abderrahmane, plus Christophe Korell, the former commander of the Anti-Bandit Brigade (BRB) that hunted down the criminals, French reporters who covered the investigation, and even one of the gang-members who’d participated in the burglary: 72-year-old convict Yunice Abbas.
The documentary begins as Kim landed in France for Paris Fashion Week, and quickly started updating her 355m followers on all her activities in the fashion capital.
As has been widely discussed, the Kardashians were at their height of global interest at the time – and Kim was at the centre of it all.
Having married Kanye West two years earlier, she had the world’s eyes watching her as she seamlessly transitioned from reality star to billionaire fashionista and influencer.
She was duly being invited to all the most exclusive events, and was happily sharing her lavish lifestyle with the world – posting pictures of herself dripping with diamonds.
Speaking in the documentary, Jeff Olde – the former head of programming for E! who was in charge of Keeping Up With The Kardashians at the time – says that, in hindsight, they were making themselves too visible.
If you want the celebrity and that kind of fame, it’s a bit of a deal you make with the devil
Jeff Olde, former head of E! programming
He explains: “The access they were giving [to their lives] was setting up a dangerous situation.
“If you want the celebrity and that kind of fame, it’s a bit of a deal you make with the devil unfortunately. Sometimes the devil is going to bite.”
Night of the attack
On the fateful night in question, Kim had gone to the Givenchy show to watch her sister Kendall Jenner walk the runway.
Afterwards, Kendall and their older sister Kourtney went out partying with friends, but Kim decided to stay back at their hotel – the Hôtel de Pourtalès, which is known locally as the “no address hotel” in Paris because it’s so exclusive, it doesn’t even have signage on the door.
She posted on Instagram, telling her millions of followers that she was staying home alone.
We then hear the rest from Abderrahmane, who’s from Algeria and had been working as a night concierge to support himself as he completed his Sorbonne University PhD thesis on the semiotics of extremist discourse.
He explains: “Someone didn’t show up [to reception] so I went to help. It’s destiny, right?
“I was behind the desk…at 2.22am, my friend called me on Skype. We were talking until the robbers came [around ten minutes later].”
He then recounts how a group of men, dressed as cops, forced him to open the door. He did so, thinking they were actually policemen.
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“Then one pointed a gun at me and pushed me with force,” he says.
“The three of them threw me on the desk and told me, ‘We’re here for the money.’ That’s when I realised they were robbers.”
Remembering the feeling of the gun on his neck, he adds: “They forced me on the ground….they asked me: ‘Is the rapper’s wife here?’”
Aberrahmane says he had no choice but to lead them to Kim’s room, where they stormed the suite and tied her up.
They can take everything but I have to make it home to my babies
Kim’s pleas during the heist
She later recounted how she’d asked the concierge to translate her pleas to the robbers, begging him: “Tell them I have babies; I have to make it home. They can take everything but I have to make it home to my babies.”
Both Kim and Aberrahmane were then gagged, with scotch tape placed over their mouths. Kim was left in the bathtub, while he was locked in a closet near the hotel lobby.
Finally, after the robbers fled, Kim was able to loosen herself free and cry for help – shortly before her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, and emergency services were called to the scene.
After the attack, Aberrahmane says: “Kim came up to me…I said ‘the most important thing is we are alive’ and then she left.”
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Made the scapegoat
After what was – by all accounts – a truly harrowing experience, the SKIMS founder quickly flew out of Paris on private jet and kept a relatively low profile.
A skeleton crew from E! did cover the aftermath, but as Kim later explained: “We never felt that we were unsafe before this. This experience changed everything.”
As for Abderrahmane, though he was freed, unharmed, his problems had only just started.
Although there was no evidence to suggest he’d been involved in the crime, police couldn’t rule out the possibility that he’d tipped someone off over her whereabouts, considering she was staying in such a private residence.
As the documentary explains, investigators wiretapped his phone for weeks, looked through his call log history, and trailed him to see if he’d lead them to the criminals.
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But nobody helped him deal with his own trauma as he came to terms with the attacks.
According to him, it was the failure of the hotel – which wasn’t adequately secured – to protect Kim.
I was being blamed for the failure of this establishment…even the McDonalds in Paris is more secure than this hotel.
Abderrahmane Ouatiki
He reflects: “I was being blamed for the failure of this establishment.
“The broken doors, the cameras that didn’t work. Even the McDonalds in Paris is more secure than this hotel.
“I was wiretapped because I was suspected by the police – I am officially a victim. Imagine if your name was associated with [the crime], the media in France didn’t want to hear it.”
After weeks of keeping tabs on the hotel employee, police were confident he didn’t have anything to do with it.
Then, after months of searching, they finally found their core five: a gang of older men, in their 50s, 60s and 70s, who have since been labelled “grandpa robbers”.
OAP criminals
The leader of the gang, Aomar Aït Khedache, now 68, a retired restaurant owner, was alleged to have masterminded the robbery.
Among the other men with a history of convictions, there was also Yunice Abbas, who speaks openly in the documentary about his involvement.
Speaking to the cameras, Abbas, who was given a seven-year suspended sentence for his part in the burglary, says: “I have done a few heists in my life and there’s always a leader who tells you what to do. It was Aomar.
“He was the only one I knew on the job. We realised that we had gangster friends in common.
“So, he suggested to me, ‘Would I be interested or not?’ I was available, I needed money, and I said, ‘Why not?’ He told me it was the wife of a rapper, that’s all I knew.”
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The trial itself finally took place earlier this year, with Kim flying into Paris to stare down her attackers in person.
Abderrahmane was also there to see his assailants brought to justice.
In the end, four men – Khedache, Abbas, Didier Dubreucq, 69, and youngest member of the group, Marc-Alexandre Boyer, 35 – were found guilty and given various sentences.
Khedache was handed the heaviest sentence of three years in prison plus five years suspended, but due to time already served in jail he wasn’t sent back to detention.
The same applied to the other convicted men.
Meanwhile, a further four people were found guilty of assisting in the plot or related charges, while two people were acquitted of accusations that they handed out information about Kim’s whereabouts.
When you feel the cold steel of a gun at your neck, it is the moment when remaining calm can mean the difference of life or death
Abderrahmane Ouatiki
Speaking after the verdict was announced, Kim said she was “deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice.”
She added: “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.”
PTSD and nightmares
But while she’s ostensibly been able to move on from the event – and, to this day, continues to share snapshots of her incredibly lavish life online – Abderrahmane has said he’s still dealing from the trauma of everything that followed the burglary.
Speaking in the documentary and also in court, he’s expressed his pain over being made the scapegoat for the failings of the hotel to keep Kim safe.
In 2021, he wrote an open letter to Kim, reflecting on their very unique shared experience, and attempting to work through his own trauma in the process.
He wrote: “Dear Kim, when you feel the cold steel of a gun at your neck, it is the moment when remaining calm can mean the difference of life or death, both our lives.
“I hope you are feeling better.”
Kim later supported him in court, going some way to vindicating him.
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Asked about his seemingly calm demeanour during the attack, she said: “He was with me, not against me. I do believe he is a victim.”
But according to Abderrahmane, despite Kim’s acknowledgement and public backing, he’s still dealing with the fallout.
He struggles with PTSD and nightmares from the attack, and also harbours resentment over the way he was treated at the time.
Speaking in the brand-new documentary, he asks: “Who can compensate me for everything that’s happened?”
All episodes of Inside The Kim Kardashian Heist are available to stream on Discovery+
