Businesswoman Kim Kardashian has been awarded a symbolic €1 ( ₹110.80) in damages from those convicted over the 2016 Paris hotel robbery in which she was held at gunpoint and robbed of millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery.
The decision came after Kardashian gave emotional testimony during the trial, recounting how masked men dressed as police officers entered her hotel room in Paris, restrained her and threatened her with a gun.
Kardashian specifically requested the €1 sum from the court, stating that her goal was not financial compensation, but official legal recognition of the trauma she and her team endured. Following the verdict, Kardashian and her stylist (who also sought and received €1) issued a statement clarifying: “Today’s decision is not about the compensation, but about accountability and recognition.”
Seeking a token €1 is a well-established civil practice in France. Victims use it when they want the court to formally validate a breach of law or acknowledge personal harm without pursuing a heavy monetary payout from the defendants.
The hotel receptionist, who was also involved in the incident, was awarded approximately €110,000 (approximately ₹1 crore) in damages after seeking €500,000.
Inside the 2016 Paris jewellery heist
{{/usCountry}}The hotel receptionist, who was also involved in the incident, was awarded approximately €110,000 (approximately ₹1 crore) in damages after seeking €500,000.
Inside the 2016 Paris jewellery heist
{{/usCountry}}The robbery was carried out at the luxurious Hôtel de Pourtalès in October 2016 when Kardashian was in the city for Paris Fashion Week. The group posed as police officers and bound her at gunpoint with tape and zip ties, locked her in the bathroom, and stole over $6 million ( ₹57 crore) worth of jewellery, including a diamond engagement ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, Kanye West. Much of the stolen jewellery was never recovered.
Ten people went on trial over the heist, which became one of France’s most closely followed celebrity crime cases. Eight people were convicted in May 2025, including Aomar Ait Khedache, identified as the mastermind, who received a three-year prison sentence. Kardashian had previously told Khedache in court that she forgave him, while making clear that the trauma had continued to affect her life.
A 1995 Galliano suit, diamonds and a courthouse appearance
Her court appearance was a statement in itself. Arriving with her mother, Kris Jenner, to testify at a court in Paris in May 2025, Kim opted for a sharp, power-shouldered black skirt suit from John Galliano’s spring/summer 1995 collection. She paired the suit with an array of diamond jewellery, including a diamond anklet, a statement Samer Halimeh diamond necklacein 18K white gold with 80 diamonds and a massive 10.13-carat pear-shaped center stone, and a 1.75 carat diamond ear cuff. The jewellery was worth over $3 million (approximately ₹28 crore).