A group of people accused of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in a French hotel in 2016 will face court this week.
It comes almost nine years after the American celebrity was allegedly restrained, gagged, and robbed of nearly $US10 million ($AU15.6 million) in cash and jewellery during Paris Fashion Week.
Nine men and one woman are facing charges of armed robbery and kidnapping in a Paris court.
Kardashian is expected to give evidence next month.
The robbery
Court documents obtained by American media outlets detail the alleged robbery.
Just before 3am on 2 October 2016, a group of armed men dressed as police officers entered a Paris hotel, and forced the concierge to lead them to Kardashian’s suite.
Filings from a separate lawsuit, which Kardashian filed against a media outlet that accused her of staging the incident, outline her account of the robbery.
Kardashian alleged two masked men “placed a gun to her head, duct-taped her hands, legs, and mouth, and then left her lying helplessly on the bathroom floor” while they robbed her.
The group is accused of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of cash and jewellery, including an engagement ring that has never been recovered.
It’s believed that after the raid, the group fled the scene of the crime on foot and bicycle.
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Accused
Three months after the incident, authorities charged 12 people.
Only 10 will stand trial — one has since died, and another was deemed unfit to stand trial due to being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
The group faces charges of armed robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy.
Of those appearing before the court, five are being tried for their direct involvement in the robbery, while the rest are accused of acting as accessories to the crime.
Eight of the accused have denied responsibility, while two have confessed to some involvement. The man alleged to be the mastermind reportedly apologised to Kardashian in a letter written while in police custody in 2017.
One of the accused publicly admitted to his involvement in a book he published in 2021.
What next?
The trial is expected to run over the next month.
The nine-year delay has been partly attributed to a backlog of high-profile cases in France, including the 2015 ISIS attack that killed 130 people.
In a statement to U.S. media, Kardashian’s lawyer confirmed she intends to appear in person to testify on 13 May, and she “wishes for the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion in accordance with French law.”
