Kim Kardashian has filed a lawsuit against the gossip website Mediatakeout.com after it alleged that she faked having her jewellery stolen in Paris to cheat insurers out of millions.

A suit filed in New York said that “after having been the victim of a horrific and traumatic armed robbery in France, Kim Kardashian returned to the United States only to again be victimised, but this time by an online gossip tabloid that published a series of articles in early October 2016 referring to her [as] a liar and thief”.

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”, it added.

“Defendants’ malicious publication of the articles, which paint the victim of a serious crime as a criminal herself, is libellous per se.”

The reality TV star, 35, who was in the French capital for fashion week, was robbed on 3 October by five men posing as police officers.

Kardashian was tied up and locked in a bathroom while a ring worth about €4m (£3.6m) and a case of jewellery with a value of €5m were taken.

Two mobile phones were also stolen during the robbery at the property in the Madeleine district of Paris, near the city’s main department stores.

French prosecutors have formally opened an investigation into the robbery, a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday, focusing on “armed theft in a gang, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping”. DNA traces that were found in the luxury apartment where Kardashian and her entourage were staying are being examined, another source said.

Kardashian flew home to the US after being questioned by police over the incident, which a spokeswoman said had left her badly shaken.

Source: Theguardian