Kim Kardashian's concierge is blaming the Hôtel de Pourtalès' lack of security for the reality star's harrowing Paris robbery. The man, identified only as 39-year-old Abdulrahman, with no last name provided, opened up about the ordeal in a new interview with the Daily Mail, which was published on Tuesday, October 18.
As previously reported, Kardashian, 35, was gagged and bound in the bathroom of her apartment in the City of Light on October 3. A group of five men disguised themselves as policemen and stole more than $10 million worth of jewelry. They are still at large and the incident is still under investigation.
Abdulrahman claims that he emailed his bosses in 2010 that better security needed to be put in place. Despite his apparent warning, the security codes had not been changed in six years, there were no functioning security cameras and there was only one guard on duty. In particular, Kardashian's wooden door only had one single lock.
"There was no real security at all. It’s a choice," Abdulrahman said. "The hotel doesn’t mind about security. We told them year and years before, you have to make a camera, you have to put [in place] a security process, about keys. Nothing was locked, there was no proper security there."
He added: "Everyone knew it."
Even more shocking? According to DM, the codes were not changed for a full two weeks following Kardashian's robbery, which made headlines around the world.
Like Kardashian, Abdulrahman was handcuffed at gunpoint by the thieves, who he believed were policemen at the time. He recalled that they wore police jackets, hats and badges. "I told them to open it because it was open, and he asked with gestures, he made me come to open the door. So I came to open it and just when I opened it, he grabbed me and handcuffed me," he told DM. "In the first seconds, I thought they were policemen making an intervention. I told them, I’m working here, what is wrong? After that he questioned me, where is the security video? At that time, I said s—t, it’s a robbery."
Abdulrahman even acted as an interpreter for the assailants. "At first I looked at them and one got very angry," he added. "He asked me to put my head down and never look at him again. He repeated, never, never look at me, or I will kill you. I saw that two of them had guns, then I just looked down."
As previously reported, the robbers knew the security code and were in and around Kardashian's residence for nearly an hour. Both Kardashian and Abdulrahman were unharmed, and the reality star has since been staying low in L.A. with her family since the situation.
Per DM, Abdulrahman plans legal action against the hotel. "They are responsible, I think. And I still blame them now," he said. "I told them, look what you did! What I told you for six years? Security cameras and other things are meant for days like today, to prevent these things from happening. If you have good guards, electronic systems to lock the doors, it can be possible to secure the hotel. One day, someone might be killed. That is more important than a robbery of rocks and metal."
He claims that authorities were just as unhelpful. "I ended up having the handcuffs on until almost five in the morning because policemen did not have the ability to open them," he said. "It made me upset. The police were not very professional. They did not look after me afterwards, they didn’t offer me any counseling or anything. Psychologically, I have to repair myself."