[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2241678506.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tThe two prime suspects in the infamous 2025 Louvre jewel heist claimed they were recruited by a \u201cmysterious sponsor,\u201d according to statements made to Paris judicial authorities that were published by Le Monde<\/em> over the weekend.<\/p>\n \n\tArrested one week after the robbery and indicted on charges of \u201corganized gang robbery,\u201d Abdoulaye N., 40, and Ghelamallah A., 36, remained silent for months in pre-trial detention. In June, however, they appeared before investigating judges and, for the first time, offered an expanded account of the theft of the French Crown Jewels from the museum\u2019s Apollo Gallery. According to the men, they were hired two or three days before the crime by a sponsor whom they do not name. That sponsor is reportedly still sought by police.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe alleged mastermind reportedly sent the pair a video filmed inside the Apollo Gallery, showing the royal jewels on display, along with concise instructions: break the gallery\u2019s windows and retrieve the jewelry from the display cases. Abdoulaye N., a former motocross social media star who, by his own admission, was in desperate need of money, said he was promised between 15,000 and 20,000 euros to break into the Louvre\u2014\u201cmaybe more,\u201d depending on the outcome.<\/p>\n \n\tFor his part, Ghelamallah A. claimed he had been told the target was \u201ca jewelry store where jewelry is made in Paris,\u201d not the world\u2019s most-visited museum. \u201cI would never have set foot there if I had known,\u201d he said, adding that he had been offered between 20,000 and 25,000 euros.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tOn the morning of October 19, the day of the robbery, the pair were instructed to meet two accomplices in Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of Paris. The group then used a motorized lift to reach the Apollo Gallery. Wearing yellow construction vests, Ghelamallah and Abdoulaye smashed a window, slipped inside, and began cutting through the glass of two jewelry display cases\u2014in and out within eight minutes, the brazen theft would soon make headlines around the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe duo absconded with eight pieces of jewelry\u2014including tiaras, a brooch, necklaces, and earrings\u2014collectively valued at more than \u20ac88 million. In the scramble to escape the scene, Abdoulaye N. admitted to dropping the crown of Empress Eug\u00e9nie, which was later recovered beneath the broken window of the Louvre. Having evaded Paris police by seconds, the four men fled to the docks of Ivry-sur-Seine, where a white Citro\u00ebn Berlingo was waiting for Abdoulaye N. and Ghelamallah A. While their accomplices escaped on two-wheeled vehicles, the pair took a deliberately circuitous route back to Aubervilliers. Driving \u201cat random,\u201d they ended up in the Vexin region west of Paris\u2014a detour intended to lead investigators to suspect the jewels had been hidden somewhere along the way.<\/p>\n \n\tThe sponsor, meanwhile, allegedly waited in Aubervilliers for the handoff. Low-quality surveillance footage from a parking lot, uncovered by investigators, appears to support that account: the silhouette of a helmeted man identified as Abdoulaye N. can be seen handling the jewelry.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe sponsor wasn\u2019t happy,\u201d Abdoulaye N. said. \u201cHe thought we could have taken more [jewels].\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAbdoulaye N. said the sponsor also criticized the pair for what he considered their clumsy escape through the window. According to his account, the sponsor then handed the jewels off to \u201cother people\u201d who were waiting in the parking lot.<\/p>\n \n\tAs for the alleged sponsor, the two men have refused to identify him, saying they fear reprisals. Ghelamallah A. acknowledged that he was withholding names to protect his family. \u201cThey\u2019re not choirboys,\u201d he said. Abdoulaye N. expressed similar concerns: \u201cI wasn\u2019t threatened, but I received contacts [in detention] from outside. I was told to keep my mouth shut.\u201d<\/p>\n Le Monde<\/em> reports that investigators are not yet convinced the alleged sponsor\u2014or the equally mysterious network said to be behind him\u2014even exists. While the search for the jewels is ongoing, investigators have found no digital communications or physical evidence linking anyone beyond the four suspects to the theft. With each passing day that the jewels remain missing, fears grow that these pieces of French national heritage have been dismantled, their famed emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds cut apart and sold on the black market.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI recognized my participation, said Abdoulaye N. \u201cI draw the consequences and the regret. The rest \u2026 it\u2019s beyond me. \u201c<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/louvre-jewel-heist-suspects-claim-sponsor-recruited-them-1234791929\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2241678506.jpg?w=1024″] The two prime suspects in the infamous 2025 Louvre jewel heist claimed they were recruited by a \u201cmysterious sponsor,\u201d according to statements made to Paris judicial authorities that were published by Le Monde over the weekend. Arrested one week after the robbery and indicted on charges of \u201corganized gang robbery,\u201d Abdoulaye N., […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-2041546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2041546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2041546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2041546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2041546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}