Explosion in Monaco: Who is Vadym Yermolaiev?
Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev was reportedly injured in a suspected assassination attempt in Monaco. Kyiv had previously imposed sanctions on him. What is known about
Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev was reportedly injured in a suspected assassination attempt in Monaco. Kyiv had previously imposed sanctions on him. What is known about the case? On the evening of June 29, a powerful explosion rocked a residential building in Monaco. According to media reports, businessman Vadym Yermolaiev was injured. He is from the Ukrainian city of Dnipro and is considered one of the country's wealthiest businesspeople. According to the preliminary investigation, an unidentified man left a backpack filled with explosives and metal shrapnel in the building's lobby. The explosion reportedly injured three people in total — a man and a woman between the ages of 50 and 60 and a 13-year-old boy. According to the news outlet Nice-Matin, the woman lost both legs in the blast. Media reports say Yermolaiev suffered burns and shrapnel wounds. His wife later told the press that she had been elsewhere at the time of the incident and was therefore unharmed. According to the French newspaper Le Figaro, investigators in Monaco are also pursuing a lead suggesting that Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) may have been behind the attack on the businessman. Monaco Prosecutor General Stephane Thibault said on July 1 that investigators are treating the incident as attempted murder.
The search for the suspects is ongoing. What is known about Yermolaiev? Vadym Yermolaiev is the founder of the Alef trading and manufacturing group and one of the largest real estate developers in the city of Dnipro. He has built most of his fortune through investments in commercial and residential real estate. In addition to property development, the group's businesses include construction materials manufacturing, agriculture, welding technology, mining and logistics. In 2020, Forbes Ukraine ranked him the country's 23rd-richest entrepreneur. Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, various media estimates put his net worth at more than $200 million. Scene of the explosion in a residential building near the French border Image: Jean-François Ottonello/MAXPPP/picture alliance Business dealings in Crimea Vadym Yermolaiev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and obtained Cypriot citizenship. He said he made the decision because he was dissatisfied with judicial and tax systems in Ukraine. On Dec. 23, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed personal sanctions on Yermolaiev for 10 years under a decision by Ukraine's Security and Defense Council. The sanctions included 16 separate restrictions, among them asset freezes and limits on financial transactions. According to the SBU, Yermolaiev's business activities in occupied Crimea were the reason for the sanctions.
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