Yunice Abbas, a key defendant in the trial of a gang accused of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in Paris in 2016 and stealing $9 million worth of jewellery from her, has said he regrets the trauma he caused the reality star-turned-business mogul in the years since.
According to Abbas, despite having a long history of crime, this was the first time he has felt the “trauma” he had caused his victim.
“I regret it, not because I got caught, but because there was a trauma,” the 72-year-old said before a jury Tuesday.
Proceedings against the 10 people charged in connection with the robbery resumed Monday afternoon.
The first of several defendants set to testify in the trial, Abbas had previously confessed to his role in the heist, detailing the robbery in his 2021 book, “I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian.”
The matter of the book came up during the testimony, with Abbas saying that he was not responsible for the title and that he disputes his alleged role in the heist.
He added that he was not involved in tying up Kardashian, who was staying in Paris for the city’s Fashion Week, instead staying downstairs to keep watch.
Abbas and nine others, dubbed the “grandpa robbers” in local media due to their ages — some of the accused are in their 70s and 80s — are alleged to have played a range of roles in the heist including holding Kardashian, 44, at gunpoint and being complicit in that crime.