Paris court sentences burglary mastermind to nine years in prison for violent robbery of Gianluigi Donnarumma

Sentences delivered in Paris

The Paris Criminal Court delivered its verdict on Friday evening, 11 September 2026, sentencing 21-year-old Ilyas Kherbouch, known as Ganito, to nine years in prison and an 80,000 euro fine. Prosecutors had sought a ten-year term for Kherbouch for orchestrating the violent July 2023 burglary of Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Co-defendant Moktar Diop received a five-year prison sentence, with two years suspended on probation, after admitting to participating in the break-in while denying any acts of violence. Prosecutors had also requested a nine-year sentence for a third defendant, 22-year-old Khyan Mamouni, who denied orchestrating the break-in alongside Kherbouch from behind bars.

The July 2023 apartment raid

In the early hours of 21 July 2023, four masked intruders climbed via rooftop access and a balcony to enter the ninth-floor luxury apartment on Avenue Montaigne in central Paris. At the time, Donnarumma was playing for Paris Saint-Germain before his 2025 transfer to Manchester City. The intruders struck the goalkeeper in the face with a knuckle duster, bound him, and threatened him with a knife while demanding access to valuables. They forced Donnarumma to yield a safe code, which revealed an empty safe.

The intruders also targeted his partner, Alessia Elefante, who was pregnant at the time. Elefante described the assault to investigators during the inquiry:

They got angry thinking that I was lying. They pulled me by the hair and one of them hit me on the thighs. I said I was pregnant but they continued.

Elefante later suffered a miscarriage, an outcome medical evaluations attributed to the physical and psychological trauma of that night. In total, a seven-man gang stole cash, luxury handbags, jewelry, watches, and keys to a Mercedes and a Lamborghini, amounting to a value estimated by Donnarumma at just under 1 million euros.

Court proceedings and broader convictions

The two-day trial in Paris concluded following moments of tension during the opening session on 10 September 2026. On the first day, Kherbouch directed hostile remarks at police officers after they ordered his brother to leave the courtroom for communicating from the public gallery:

Come here, you. What are you going to do?

When warned by the presiding judge about possible expulsion from the proceedings, Kherbouch dismissed the court:

I couldn't care less. I don't want to be present at the trial. I don't give a s---.

On the second day, Kherbouch apologized to the court and to the police officers. The prosecution noted that the Avenue Montaigne district had seen seven celebrities targeted between 2022 and 2025 by networks targeting high-profile figures.

Case history and previous sentences

The investigation traced the burglary ring across multiple jurisdictions and separate proceedings. Two juvenile accomplices under 18 years old were previously convicted by a children's court, receiving sentences of three and four years in prison. Another suspect died by suicide in prison in 2024 after admitting his involvement under pressure from accomplices. Kherbouch had previously escaped from Villepinte prison in Seine-Saint-Denis in March 2026 before authorities recaptured him after 13 days on the run.