Monaco hunts bomb suspect after Ukrainian tycoon hurt in blast

Police in Monaco and France are searching for a man suspected of planting an explosive device at a residential building in central Monaco, an attack officials said injured three Ukrainian nationals. The case has drawn attention because French and Ukrainian media have identified one of the wounded as Vadym Yermolaiev, a sanctioned Ukrainian-born businessman living in the principality.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the three injured people were members of the same family, citing local emergency services, but said it was still checking their citizenship and did not name them. French media reported that the victims are believed to be Yermolaiev, his partner and his 13-year-old son.

Reuters, citing a source familiar with the investigation, reported that Yermolaiev was hurt and later stabilized in hospital, while his partner was badly wounded. Al Jazeera and Reuters reported that the woman was understood to be in a life-threatening condition, while the son was less seriously injured.

Package left before the explosion

Monaco public prosecutor Stephane Thibault said the explosion occurred Monday night at the entrance to a residential building after a man was seen leaving a package there. Thibault said Tuesday that the suspect appeared to have acted alone, fled on foot and remained at large.

Le Figaro reported that surveillance video showed a man in a black jacket, light trousers, white shoes and a black hat placing a backpack at the building entrance shortly before the blast. Christophe Mirmand, Monaco’s minister of state, told LCI that the device contained bolts and buckshot.

Mirmand told reporters that the three victims appeared to be returning home when they reached the building entrance and were hit by the explosion. AFP reported a heavy police presence at the site Tuesday, with the area sealed off and a helicopter overhead.

Prince Albert II called the attack a “heinous crime” and said it had shocked Monaco’s community. An aide to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said police were trying to find the person responsible after he fled.

Monaco authorities said they had ruled out terrorism as a motive, according to Al Jazeera. Investigators believe the suspect crossed into the French town of Beausoleil and may have moved toward Italy, which is about 12km from Monaco.

Yermolaiev’s background

Yermolaiev is a businessman from Dnipro who founded Aleg Group in 1995 and had interests in agribusiness, property, construction and medical equipment, the Kyiv Independent reported. Forbes ranked him 45th among the richest Ukrainians in 2021, estimating his wealth at $220m, according to Al Jazeera.

Ukrainian authorities sanctioned Yermolaiev in December 2023 over business activity linked to Russian-occupied Crimea, according to Ukrainian security services cited by media. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that sanctions at the time targeted people helping Russia’s aggression and collaborating with what he called a terrorist state.

Yermolaiev denied collaborating with Russia in a 2024 interview with RBC Ukraine. He said his side had tried and failed to recover investments in Crimea, abandoned those efforts by the end of 2015 and advised company managers against reregistering under Russian rules; he said the Crimean business was later seized by Russian forces.

Media reports cited by Al Jazeera said Yermolaiev gave up Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and obtained Cypriot nationality in 2019. He told Forbes Ukraine in 2024 that he sought “international protection,” criticizing Ukraine’s courts and tax system.

Possible motives under review

Le Figaro reported that investigators were examining whether Ukraine’s Security Service directed the attack as a warning rather than an attempt to kill Yermolaiev. No official accusation has been announced, and no suspect has been named.

Other theories have been raised in Ukrainian reporting. Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told the Kyiv Independent he did not see a political motive and believed the attack was more likely linked to fraudulent call centre cases involving Yermolaiev’s son Artur, who received a suspended sentence in Estonia after a plea deal, according to the outlet.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.