DNA found at Kardashian crime scene, French judicial inquiry starts

A French judge has started a formal investigation into the robbery of nine-million-euros-worth of jewellery from US reality star Kim Kardashian in Paris this month. Traces of DNA found at the luxury apartment where she was staying are being examined.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in August Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

A judicial investigation into armed robbery, criminal conspiracy and sequestration was opened on Tuesday, sources revealed Wednesday.

No suspects have been questioned but several traces of ADN wer found on the premises where Kardashian was threatened with a gun to her head, tied up, gagged and locked in the bathroom on the night of 2 October, they say.

A diamond pendant woth 30,000 euros, found by a passerby in the street near the scene of the crime, did not have any exploitable DNA traces on it, however.

The thieves, who left on bicycles, according to investigators, made off with a ring worth four million euros, a box containing jewellery worth five million euros and two mobile phones, the most valuable haul of jewellery stolen in France for 20 years.

Kardashian and her companions may soon be questioned again in the US, possibly by the FBI, French sources say.

Kardashian sues website for libel

The 35-year-old celebrity, whose income was 131 dollars (119 million euros) over the last three years, filed suit on Tuesday against gossip webstite Mediatakeout.com for accusing her of faking the robbery to cheat her insurers.

The articles "claimed, without any factual support whatsoever, that Kardashian faked the robbery, lied about the violent assault, and then filed a fraudulent claim with her insurance company to bilk her carrier out of millions of dollars," the lawsuit says.

"Defendants' malicious publication of the Articles, which paint the victim of a serious crime as a criminal herself, is libellous per se."

Taiwanese billionairess robbed next day

A 75-year-old Taiwanese billionaire businesswoman was robbed of jewellery worth 150,000-200,000 euros the day after the Kardashian theft.

Two men broke into the flat of Shaw-Lan Wang, a publisher and principal shareholder in the Lanvin fashion house, as she took an afternoon nap.

They stole phones, luxury items and jewellery, including a ring they took off her finger, but were not violent, police sources said, adding that there was no apparent link to the Kardashian robbery.