A Paris Criminal Court has sentenced two individuals for their involvement in a violent 2023 burglary at the home of Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The incident, which occurred in July 2023 at the couple’s luxury apartment on Avenue Montaigne, left the footballer and his partner, Alessia Elefante, bound and threatened at knifepoint.
Ilyas Kherbouch, 21, identified by the court as the mastermind behind the operation, received a nine-year prison sentence and an 80,000 euro ($93,000) fine. A second defendant, Moktar D, was sentenced to five years in prison, with two years suspended under a probationary term. A third man, 22-year-old Khyan M, who was suspected of coordinating the heist from his prison cell, was acquitted of the charges.
During the trial, it was revealed that Donnarumma, who was playing for Paris Saint-Germain at the time of the attack before transferring to Manchester City in 2025, was beaten with knuckle gloves until he bled. His partner was choked with a phone charging cable. The couple was held captive by a group of four masked men who accessed the ninth-floor residence via the building’s rooftops.
The attackers repeatedly shouted, “The money, the watches!” as they ransacked the home. A seven-man gang, some of whom remain unidentified, escaped within minutes with cash, jewelry, luxury bags, and watches. The total value of the stolen items was estimated by the goalkeeper to be just under one million euros ($1.1m).
Prosecutors had initially sought sentences ranging from four to 10 years. Kherbouch, known as “Ganito,” had previously gained notoriety for escaping from Villepinte prison in March. During the final day of the trial, he apologized to the court and to police officers he had previously insulted. Moktar D, the only defendant present at the scene, maintained that he had only served as a lookout from a nearby rooftop.
The prosecution highlighted that the Avenue Montaigne area has been frequently targeted by a young criminal population, noting that seven celebrities were victimized between 2022 and 2025. Officials described this type of crime as “highly lucrative” and “extremely violent,” noting that it often targets “its own idols.”
The trial also touched upon the broader impact of the trauma, with reports indicating that Elefante suffered a miscarriage following the ordeal. Additionally, a childhood friend of one of the defendants, who was accused of acting as an informant, died by suicide while in custody. The report also notes that the 27-year-old Donnarumma and his partner Elefante were bound and threatened at knifepoint during the terrifying ordeal in their luxury apartment on Avenue Montaigne in central Paris in July 2023, a court in the French capital heard. The report also notes that the prosecutor noted during his closing arguments, listing seven celebrities who had fallen victim between 2022 and 2025, the exclusive Avenue Montaigne neighbourhood has been “targeted by an increasingly youthful criminal population”. The report also notes that despite messages and images recovered from phones they had been using while in custody, the two alleged masterminds behind the operation denied any involvement during questioning.
