The two prime suspects in the infamous 2025 Louvre jewel heist claimed they were recruited by a “mysterious sponsor,” 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 “organized gang robbery,” 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’s 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.
The 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’s 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—“maybe more,” depending on the outcome.
For his part, Ghelamallah A. claimed he had been told the target was “a jewelry store where jewelry is made in Paris,” not the world’s most-visited museum. “I would never have set foot there if I had known,” he said, adding that he had been offered between 20,000 and 25,000 euros.
On 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—in and out within eight minutes, the brazen theft would soon make headlines around the world.
The duo absconded with eight pieces of jewelry—including tiaras, a brooch, necklaces, and earrings—collectively valued at more than €88 million. In the scramble to escape the scene, Abdoulaye N. admitted to dropping the crown of Empress Eugénie, 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 Citroën 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 “at random,” they ended up in the Vexin region west of Paris—a detour intended to lead investigators to suspect the jewels had been hidden somewhere along the way.
The 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.
“The sponsor wasn’t happy,” Abdoulaye N. said. “He thought we could have taken more [jewels].”
Abdoulaye 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 “other people” who were waiting in the parking lot.
As 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. “They’re not choirboys,” he said. Abdoulaye N. expressed similar concerns: “I wasn’t threatened, but I received contacts [in detention] from outside. I was told to keep my mouth shut.”
Le Monde reports that investigators are not yet convinced the alleged sponsor—or the equally mysterious network said to be behind him—even 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.
“I recognized my participation, said Abdoulaye N. “I draw the consequences and the regret. The rest … it’s beyond me. “
