One of the masterminds behind Kim Kardashian’s 2016 hotel robbery in Paris has blamed his famous victim for the crime, saying she should “be a little less showy”.
Yunis Abbas spent nearly two years in prison for the sensational $10 million robbery in which Kardashian was tied up and put in the bathtub of her hotel room by robbers posing as police.
“Because she was throwing money away, I was there to pick it up, and that was that. Guilty? No, I don’t care,” Abbas snorted to VICE News in an interview published Saturday.
“They should be a little less showy towards people who can’t afford it,” he said of Kardashian and other celebrities flaunting their wealth online. “For some people, it’s provocative.”
The thieves — many of whom were over 60 and dubbed the “grandpa gangsters” by social media — robbed Kardashian of $10 million dollars in jewelry, including the $4 million, 20-karat engagement ring Kanye West had given her.
Abbas, who is in his late 60s, was one of 12 people arrested for performing at Paris Fashion Week. He was released from prison after 22 months for health reasons apparently related to his heart.
He said the gang used the internet to track down and rob Kardashian after seeing her showing her jewelry all over social media.
Abbas said he stayed downstairs in the hotel to keep watch while his co-conspirators tied up the reality star in the hotel bathtub.
“Madame Kardashian’s secretary called for help. But she called 911 in the United States, which scared us, causing them to lose a lot of time. And when we got out, there was a bunch of cops outside who didn’t know anything about the robbery,” he said.
Kardashian has spoken repeatedly about the traumatic incident, saying it left her feeling anxious and constantly anxious.
“You won’t come out unscathed,” Abbas acknowledged, adding: “Of course she must have been traumatized.”
Abbas, who was interviewed for VICE News for a story about influencer heists, has spoken about the heist before and even wrote a memoir titled “I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian.”
He has been in and out of jail for decades for various crimes, according to French media, and said he robbed Kardashian because he was short of money.
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