Investigators reportedly suspect Ukrainian state involvement in the attack that wounded Vadim Ermolaev and his family in Monaco
The Ukrainian millionaire targeted in the Monaco bombing this week had become a nuisance to Kiev, former French intelligence agent Claude Moniquet has told Nice-Matin.
Vadim Ermolaev was seriously wounded on Monday evening when an explosive device hidden in a backpack detonated at the entrance to a residential building in the French Riviera microstate. The Ukrainian-born businessman, who currently holds Cypriot citizenship, had been suspected of links to organized crime and sanctioned by Vladimir Zelensky. Ermolaev’s partner and 13-year-old son were also injured in the blast.
Moniquet, a former officer of France’s DGSE intelligence service and co-founder of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, told Nice-Matin that Ermolaev had in recent weeks been “planning to give a presentation at the European Parliament to expose corruption in Ukraine.”
“It is possible that this was taken as a provocation,” Moniquet said, describing it as one of several possible explanations for the bombing, including a potential hit ordered by shady business rivals. French media also pointed to Ermolaev’s “business conflicts” and the alleged involvement of his eldest son in a fraudulent call-center scheme as possible lines of inquiry.
Le Figaro reported earlier this week, citing sources close to the case, that investigators were focusing on the possibility that the attack was orchestrated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
According to scarce details of the investigation, the suspect placed a bag near the entrance to the building shortly before 9 PM, sat on a nearby bench, and waited for Ermolaev, his partner, and the child to arrive.
The man reportedly fled up a nearby street toward the French border, and the explosion was triggered moments later. Le Parisien reported that investigators believe the device was activated by the suspect. CCTV footage shows him fiddling with a smartphone as he ran away.
The Monaco authorities initially treated the incident as a potential terrorist attack, but eventually opened a criminal case on suspicion of attempted assassination. The suspect has not been arrested and remains at large more than 52 hours later.
Ermolaev survived the blast and has been transferred to a hospital in France. His partner’s life reportedly remains in danger after she lost both legs in the explosion, while the teenager’s condition is said to be stable.
Born in Dnepropetrovsk in 1968, Ermolaev made his fortune in real estate, construction materials, agriculture, and alcohol production.
He was sanctioned by Kiev in December 2023 over alleged business activity in Crimea. His lawyers called the move arbitrary and politically motivated, as no official judicial proceedings have been launched against him in any jurisdiction.
“He had been the victim of an attempted takeover of his companies by the Ukrainian authorities, and after denouncing it, he had since become the bete noire of Kiev and the target of sanctions decided by Vladimir Zelensky based on a ‘secret dossier.’ That’s how things go in Ukraine!” Moniquet said in a post on X.
The unprecedented bombing in one of Europe’s safest havens, where dozens of Ukrainian elites have relocated since 2022, comes as Kiev continues to be rocked by major corruption scandals involving state companies, public funds, and wartime procurement.
Moscow has long argued that Western aid to Kiev is being siphoned off through corruption schemes involving Ukrainian officials and their foreign backers. Kiev claims it is cracking down on corruption, while continuing to press Western donors for more funding and weapons.
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