Explosion in Monaco leaves Vadim Ermolaev and his wife in critical condition, suspect flees toward France

An explosion that occurred on Monday evening, at around 9:00 p.m., in front of the entrance to a residential building in the Principality of Monaco, left Vadim Ermolaev and his wife seriously injured.

According to the authorities, the suspect was captured on security cameras leaving a backpack, which exploded just as he was walking away on foot toward Beausoleil, on French territory.

Law enforcement says the search for the suspected perpetrator is still ongoing, while it is believed he fled in the direction of France.

Vadim Ermolaev, 58, an oligarch of Ukrainian origin who renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and obtained a Cypriot passport, is in hospital in very serious condition together with his partner. Ermolaev suffered severe burns, while his wife is also said to be in critical condition.

One of his four children, a 13-year-old, was also injured, but with lighter injuries.

According to reports, the device that exploded contained bullet cartridges inside.

“As far as I know, this is the first time in history that an act of this kind has happened in the Principality,” said Monaco’s head of government, Christophe Mirmand.

Authorities clarified that the family’s behavior before entering the residence did not suggest any concern. According to them, they appeared calm and showed no special caution. So far, there have been no reports of concrete threats against Ermolaev or his family.

The building where the explosion occurred has six apartments, and at the time of the incident, the three injured people were the only individuals inside. Its staircase suffered major damage from the blast, and the building was covered in blood.

Ermolaev, ranked 23rd on Forbes’ list of the 100 richest people in Ukraine, is described by Nice-Matin as a regular visitor to casinos on the French Riviera, where he also drives a Bentley. He also owns a yacht and a villa near Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

The oligarch is under investigation as part of a broader money laundering case involving Estonia and Ukraine. Since 2023, he has been under sanctions by the Ukrainian government because of the activities of his Alef Group in occupied Crimea and suspected ties to Russia.

At the time he gave up his Ukrainian citizenship to obtain Cypriot citizenship, he said: “I want to benefit from international protection. The Ukrainian judicial system, to put it mildly, is far from perfect and the tax administration is not objective.”

Despite this, he has continued his activities in Ukraine and in 2021, through the company Alef, resumed construction of a real estate complex in Dnipro. In the same year, he inaugurated the country’s largest biomass power plant.

According to Ukrainian services, Ermolaev is considered part of the so-called “Monaco battalion,” a term referring to the group of billionaires who moved to the Principality after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.