A Ukrainian woman has been named as the main suspect in a bomb attack that targeted a wealthy businessman in Monaco, officials said on July 3.
Monegasque prosecutors added that the suspect had fled to Germany in the wake of the attack and had likely not acted alone.
Iermolaiev—who had renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and obtained a Cypriot passport—was sanctioned by Kyiv in June 2024 for allegedly selling vodka in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, was named as the chief suspect in an Interpol Red Notice, which said she was Ukrainian, spoke German, and was wanted by Monegasque authorities for attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy.
A Red Notice is a request for law enforcement to locate and provisionally arrest a suspect, no matter where they are found.
Monaco deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond said at a press conference that the suspect left a parcel in front of a building in the principality, then set off the device with a remote control when the three victims arrived, according to French news outlet Le Parisien.
She then left on foot for France, which borders Monaco on all sides except its Mediterranean coast, and, after crossing the border, fled in a car rented in Germany, driving back to Germany via several European countries, including Italy.
The suspect had scouted the area over the days before the attack, on most occasions wearing similar clothing as the day of the attack, and one day with her long, dark hair visible, Raymond said, adding that this is what allowed investigators to know the suspect “was a woman who disguised herself as a man.”
Raymond added that Monegasque authorities are seriously considering the possibility of accomplices or a mastermind, saying that the “relative sophistication of the explosive device and the modus operandi seem to indicate that the person who planted the explosive device did not act alone.”
Two people were arrested in Monaco earlier this week but have since been released, he added.
German criminal police issued a statement saying they had searched a rented flat in Frankfurt and a car belonging to a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman, without naming her, as part of the investigation.
‘Unverified Allegations’ Rejected
A public relations company, Silver Eye Communications Agency, released a statement to Monaco Life confirming that Iermolaiev was targeted but rejecting media outlets’ characterization of him as an “oligarch” and the “unverified allegations” printed in numerous European newspapers.“The use of an explosive device in an attempt on a person’s life is a barbaric act that has no place in any civilized society,” Silver Eye said.
“The fact that Mr. Iermolaiev’s child was also injured makes this crime particularly shocking.”
“Mr. Vadym Iermolaiev is not an oligarch. He has never held political office, never controlled strategic sectors of the Ukrainian economy, never enjoyed a monopoly in any industry, and has never been part of Ukraine’s political establishment,” the agency added.
Monaco is a small principality on the Mediterranean coast with a population of only 38,000—many of whom are wealthy foreign nationals attracted by its minimal taxes. The principality is militarily defended by France under the terms of a 2002 treaty.
The Ukrainian government has not commented on the incident, other than the foreign ministry issuing a statement on June 30 that Kyiv’s embassy in Paris, which is also responsible for Ukrainian affairs in Monaco, was in contact with local officials, Ukrainian outlet Euro Integration reports.
Iermolaiev founded the Alef Group, a conglomerate involved in commercial real estate, manufacturing, and agriculture.
He was heavily involved in reshaping downtown Dnipro before Russia invaded in 2022.
In April, Iermolaiev’s son Artur, 35, pleaded guilty in Estonia to fraud charges related to a 100 million euro ($114 million) phone call scam and was given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay an 8.5 million euro ($9.7 million) fine.
