The veteran gangster who held Kim Kardashian up at gunpoint and left her thinking she would die today offered ‘a thousand pardons’ to the reality TV star.
Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, begged for forgiveness on Friday, just before a jury in Paris retired to consider a verdict in the case.
A total of nine men and a woman are in the dock at the French capital’s Assizes court, accused of a variety of charges, including ‘armed robbery’ and ‘kidnap in an organised gang’.
‘I can’t find the words to say how sorry I am,’ were the words of Aït Khedache, who is now almost mute and partially deaf following years of ill health.
‘I offer a thousand apologies,’ he scribbled on a piece of paper, before his claims were displayed on a screen inside the historic Voltaire Chamber of the court.
Ms Kardashian, who is now 44, lost $10million-worth of jewellery in the October 2016 raid, including a $4million engagement ring from her ex-husband, the rapper Kanye West, that has never been recovered.
Prosecutor General Anne-Dominique Merville told the court that Aït Khedache – who has multiple convictions for drugs running and robbery – should spend the next 10 years in prison.
She said he was ‘now of a certain age and showed no risk of reoffending’ but should ‘pay for his crimes.’
Aomar Aït Khedache (pictured), the supposed ringleader of the robbers, penned a letter of remorse whilst in prison in 2017 to Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian leaves the courthouse after testifying in the trial of 10 people accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of jewellery from her, in Paris, France, May 13, 2025
Ms Merville said Aït Khedache, who admitted taking part in the heist after his DNA was found at the scene, ‘now downplays the violence involved.’
During an emotional testimony to the court last week, Ms Kardashian said she had feared she would not survive the raid.
Trial judge David De Pas asked her directly during court questioning: ‘Did you think you were going to die, Madam?’
She replied: ‘Absolutely, I was certain I was going to die.’
Aït Khedache denied being the mastermind of the heist, saying there was a mysterious ‘X or Ben’ who was ultimately responsible.
But Ms Merville said there was ample proof that Aït Khedache ‘gave the orders’, and then went to Antwerp, Belgium, to try and sell the swag.
A 10-year prison sentence was also requested for Yunice Abbas, 72, and the only other defendant to plead guilty.
While on remand, Abbas wrote a book called ‘I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian,’ which became a gift to prosecutors.
During his own last words to the court on Friday, Abbas said: ‘Once again, I have nothing but regrets to offer you; I’m sorry for what I did.’
The same sentence was requested for Didier Dubreucq, 69, who was allegedly the second robber to enter the Kardashian’s penthouse, along with Aït Khedache, who is also known as ‘Old Omar’.
Old Omar claimed a man presented detailed heist plans to him, including layouts of the hotel building and pictures of Kardashian wearing the prized jewellery. Listen now
The socialite was bound and gagged at a hotel room in Paris in October 2016
Lesser sentences were requested for other members of the gang who, like Dubreucq, had all denied any wrongdoing.
All of them were allowed to address the court for the last time today, before the jury retired.
Most of the key defendants are in their 60s and 70s, meaning they have been dubbed the ‘Grandpa Robbers’.
There is one woman defendant – Cathy Glotin, 78, who was once Aït Khedache’s mistress.
She has continually pleaded her innocence, saying on Friday: ‘I had nothing to do with this case, and look forward to being reunited with my family.’
But the veteran criminal is said to have provided ‘secretarial services’ to the gang, including providing burner phones.
Glotin also travelled to Antwerp – the diamond capital of Europe – with Aït Khedache to sell the swag, the prosecution claims.
It could have asked for sentences of up to 30 years, but the defendants’ ages and poor health are the reasons for relatively low ones been requested.
The vast majority of defendants were imprisoned in January 2017, three months after the robbery.
But then they were released on bail, meaning they were all free when the trial started in April.
Ms Kardashian was not in court today, but her lawyers said she was following proceedings from her home in Los Angeles.
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star qualified as an attorney this month, following six years of study.
She said she wanted to ‘fight for justice’, including for defendants in criminal trials.
Her late father, Robert Kardashian Junior, famoulsy defended actor O.J.Simpson at his murder trial in 1995.
During the Paris trial, Ms Kardashian accepted an emotional apology from the gang ringleader, Aït Khedache.
The trial continues, and a verdict is expected on Friday evening.
