Unprecedented in peaceful Monaco: Ukrainian businessman Vadim Ermolaev, seriously injured along with his wife and son after the explosion of a device hidden in a backpack left at the entrance of their home by an unknown person. "It is the first time in history that such an act has occurred in the Principality," certifies the Prosecutor of the Principality, Thibault Stéphane, who, however, has acted cautiously and preferred to classify what happened as an "attempted murder" and the "placement of an explosive device in a public place," but not as a terrorist attack.
The events took place on Monday at nine in the evening. Vadim Ermolaev, 58, was about to enter his residence on Reverendo Père Louis Frolla Street when the device exploded and hit him and his wife directly, both hospitalized in critical condition. The couple's 13-year-old son suffered minor injuries and is out of danger.
The Monaco police launched a search for a man who was caught on security cameras depositing the backpack. The alleged perpetrator was spotted minutes after the explosion fleeing on foot towards Beausoleil, on the other side of the border. French authorities have joined the investigation to locate the suspect and determine the motive. Apparently, the businessman had been threatened, although apparently he did not have bodyguards or police protection.
Established in Monaco since 2021, Ermolaev is part of the so-called "Monaco Battalion," the elite group of at least 84 Ukrainian oligarchs established on the French Riviera and Monaco before the war in Ukraine. With an estimated fortune of $230 million, built in the real estate, healthcare, and wine industry in Dnipro (Ukraine), he owns a luxury villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and several properties on the French Riviera.
In 2016, Ermolaev was ranked 39th among the richest men in Ukraine by Forbes. Dubbed by the local press as "the man who changed the face of Dnipro," he was for many decades one of the region's largest real estate developers until the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014.
His wine and liquor production was based in Crimea and continued to be marketed through a dual channel: to the Russian market (labeled as "geographically protected Crimean wine") and to the European and American markets (as originating from Ukraine).
The commercial maneuver (to circumvent sanctions on Russian products) reportedly earned him many enemies in Ukraine. To the extent that in 2019, Ermolaev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and decided to obtain a Cypriot passport. "I want international protection," he declared to Forbes. "The Ukrainian judicial system, to put it mildly, is not perfect, and the tax system is not fair."
With the start of the war in Ukraine, Ermolaev responded to accusations of collaboration by condemning the Russian invasion, claiming that his private plane had been destroyed in an attack over Dnipro and stating that his land and wine and liquor production were confiscated by Chechen militia: "I hate our enemies and regret the destruction they have brought to Ukraine and my hometown."
As the war in Ukraine broke out in 2022, his name resurfaced in headlines as the subject of an investigation by the State Investigation Bureau of Ukraine, accusing him of money laundering to Russia through a bank in Estonia, Versobank, of which he was a co-owner. Ermolaev's eldest son was temporarily detained that same year by Interpol at the request of Cyprus.
According to the newspaper Nice-Matin, 87% of Versobank's deposits came from "non-residents," which caught the attention of the Money Laundering Data Bureau in Estonia. It is estimated that over 7 billion euros passed through the bank accounts before "disappearing" in Western Europe.
The Monaco police do not rule out that the "attempted murder" with an explosive device on Monday night may be related to these operations and may ultimately be a settling of scores. The 15 detectives leading the investigation are following Ukrainian leads, while the hunt for the suspect on French soil continues.
The Monaco Prosecutor's Office has contacted the authorities in Kiev to gather information and search for possible leads. "It seems like a very, very personal vendetta," sources close to the businessman told The Guardian. "The incident does not seem the work of a professional... There are security cameras on every corner in Monaco, that's why the wealthy feel safe."
The same sources questioned the possible involvement of Ukrainian special services: "Ermolaev is someone without ideology, without a political vision that would make him an ally of Moscow. In any case, he is an opportunist, not a declared enemy."
The street-level explosion caused a great commotion in the Principality. At least four people were treated for injuries from stones and broken glass. "It was as if suddenly a war had erupted on our street: the fragments reached our balconies," a neighbor told Le Figaro.
The incident has brought to light the dirty laundry of oligarchs with interests in the Principality, such as magnate Rinat Akhmetov, considered the richest man in Ukraine by Forbes, with an estimated fortune of $7.8 billion. Akhmetov, founder of System Capital Management and president of the Shakhtar football club, made headlines just three months ago after acquiring the most exclusive apartment in Monaco for 471 million euros: Le Renzo, a five-story apartment designed as a ship and signed by architect Renzo Piano.
Akhmetov's mansion is located in the Mareterra eco-district, a super-luxury residential neighborhood "between the sea and the land," which required an investment of 7 billion euros and had the "blessing" of Prince Albert.