A Paris criminal court has sentenced 21-year-old Ilyas Kherbouch to nine years in prison for his role in the 2023 home invasion of Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.. The violent attack on Avenue Montaigne targeted Donnarumma and his partner, Alessia Elefante, resulting in the theft of luxury assets and significant psychological trauma.
The violent breach of the Avenue Montaigne apartment
The 2023 home invasion at the Avenue Montaigne residence was a highly coordinated assault on Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his partner, Alessia Elefante. According to the report, a gang of four criminals gained entry to the luxury apartment by using a ladder to reach the roof before descending onto the balcony and forcing entry through the windows.
During the robbery, the attackers used extreme violence to secure luxury assets, including Cartier jewelry and keys to a Mercedes and a Lamborghini. The report notes that one assailant struck Donnarumma with a knuckle-duster and threatened him with a knife, while Elefante was physically assaulted during the attempt to locate a locked safe. In a moment of high tension, Donnarumma reportedly provided an Audemars Piguet watch to the thieves during the confrontation.
Kherbouch’s nine-year sentence and the €80,000 fine
On December 1, 2024, the Paris criminal court issued its final decision regarding the high-profile robbery. The court sentenced Ilyas Kherbouch to nine years in prison and imposed an €80,000 fine, marking the most severe penalty handed down in the case.
Other defendants received varying sentences, including 24-year-old Moktar Diop, who was handed five years in prison with two years suspended.. While the younger co-defendant Khyan Mamouni was acquitted, the legal proceedings were marked by the death of one suspect by suicide earlier in 2024. For the victims, the legal resolution does little to ease the emotional toll; as Donnarumma's lawyers noted, the psychological injury remains profound.
A criminal conspiracy directed from within prison cells
The investigation into the Donnarumma robbery revealed a disturbing trend of organized crime being managed from behind bars . As the report states, both Ilyas Kherbouch and Khyan Mamouni were allegedly involved in orchestrating the heist while already serving time in prison for previous offenses.
Kherbouch's behavior during the trial further illustrated his contempt for the legal process, includiing insulting police officers and earning a 13-day courtroom suspension in March. This ability to direct a violent crime from a cell suggests a sophisticated network of criminal influence that bypasses traditional law enforcement. The case highlights how individuals with extensive criminal records, including those with at least 11 prior convictions, can still exert control over active street operations.
The mystery of the prison-to-street command chain
Significant questions remain regarding how Kherbouch and his associates managed to coordinate a complex robbery from within the French penal system. It is currently unclear how the specific instructions for the Avenue Montaigne attack were communicated to the thieves on the ground without detection by prison authorities.
Security experts are left wondering whether the high profiles of athletes like Gianluigi Donnarumma inevitably make them targets for such sophisticated, remote-controlled criminal operations. The case leaves open the question of whether current security protocols can ever be sufficient when criminal leadership is insulated by prison walls.
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