Ukrainian tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev, who reportedly has links to Russia, was the main target of the Monaco bombing, whose main suspect is a 39-year-old woman from Ukraine. The Interpol named Anastasiia Berezovska as the suspect in a Red Notice posted on its website seeking her arrest.
According to The Guardian report, Vadym Yermolaiev, his wife and their 13-year-old child appear to have been specifically targeted in Monday’s explosion, said Monaco authorities.
The French authorities said Yermolaiev and his wife were admitted to a hospital with “serious injuries” while their child was also wounded in the explosion.
One of the victims is still in a life-threatening condition, prosecutors said, also mentioning two other “collateral victims” who were slightly injured in the attack, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Who is Vadym Yermolaiev?
Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian construction tycoon, is the founder of Alef Trade and Industrial Corporation.
According to The Guardian, Yermolaiev is also one of the most influential business tycoons and property developers in the region and was listed on Forbes Ukraine’s list of the 100 richest Ukrainians.
His net worth has been estimated at $823 million, placing him in the top 15 richest Ukrainians, according to media reports.
He reportedly renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and opted for Cypriot nationality. Yermolaiev was targeted by Ukrainian sanctions in 2023 for ties to Russian firms that were operating in Ukrainian territories occupied by , including Crimea, the report said.
Ukraine is believed to have carried out attacks and targeted killings of Russian figures in the course of the war, although those attacks have largely been confined to Ukrainian or Russian territory.
About the Monaco bombing suspect
The notice said the suspect, Anastasiia Berezovska, has a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow. It says she was born in Ukraine, has dark hair, and speaks German.
Her arrest is sought by authorities in Monaco for attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy.
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Morgan Raymond, the deputy prosecutor in Monaco, said the bomb was detonated from a distance, using a remote control. The remains of the bomb are being analysed in France, he said.
He added that the suspect was initially identified as a heavyset person, appearing to be male, wearing a dark long-sleeved top, light-coloured shorts, and a black bucket hat. A broader review of CCTV footage from previous days and testimony from a witness redirected the investigation toward a woman disguised as a man.
Eric Arella, Monaco’s director of public security, held up copies of the Interpol wanted notice at the news conference with the prosecutor. It included two photos of a woman wearing a white T-shirt with dark stripes, one of them in a street where she’s holding what appears to be some sort of electronic device, trailing a cable, in her left hand.
The judicial investigation also focused on whether the suspect had accomplices or acted on behalf of someone else
“The relative sophistication of the explosive device and the modus operandi suggest that the person who planted the device did not act alone,” Raymond said.
Investigators also identified a rented vehicle fitted with German license plates that the suspect used in Monaco. The suspect’s escape route was traced, including the journey from France into Italy, and then across several European countries up to her country of residence.
Raymond said that her last known address is in , “a country with which judicial cooperation is particularly active.”
(with agency inputs)
