The motive behind Monday’s bombing of a Ukrainian-born billionaire in Monaco remains a mystery, with residents of the ultra-wealthy city-state grappling with their suddenly shattered sense of security.
The identity of the victim was also not immediately determined by authorities, but CNN’s French affiliate BFMTV reported that Vadim Ermolayev was the target of Monday night’s bombing and was injured in the explosion.
Ermolayev made his fortune in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro during the rough years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He primarily focused on real estate and at one point ranked as one of the richest people in Ukraine.
Before the war, Dnipro had a reputation as a flashy capital of wealth and luxury, and the distinction between local authorities and criminal elements was not always clear. The city was also known for its thriving Jewish community, of which Ermolayev was a prominent and active member.
Ermolaev left his home country and renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019. According to public documents, Ermolayev, 58, used to live in Monaco but is now a Cypriot citizen.
Local authorities declined to name the victims, saying only that the adult male victim had lived in Monaco since at least 2021. However, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “according to local emergency services” the three people injured in the explosion were members of a “family of Ukrainian descent.”
Mr. Ermolaiyev and two others, a woman and a child, were seriously injured by a bomb left at Mr. Emolayev’s residence by an unknown suspect shortly before the explosion.
The attack was so unusual and outrageous that it shocked the upscale seaside city-state. Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe Millmann said in a statement that this type of attack had never occurred in Monaco before.
The identities of the woman and child remain unknown. Ermolayev’s wife told Ukrainian public broadcaster Sashpyrne on Tuesday that he was not at home at the time of the attack and was not injured.
This exclusive coastal city is home to many millionaires and celebrities. Crime is virtually non-existent in Monaco, the right to privacy is respected, and the tax system is very generous.
The Ukrainian edition of Forbes magazine quoted Ermolaev as saying he had renounced his Ukrainian citizenship because he wanted “international protection.”
“Ukraine’s judicial system is not perfect, to say the least, and the tax system is not objective,” he told Forbes.
The motive for the assassination attempt remains unclear. Mr. Ermolaev has no apparent connection to the Ukraine war. He was sanctioned by Kiev in December 2023 for doing business in Russian-occupied Crimea, but he denied the allegations in interviews with Ukrainian media.
However, Ermolaev’s son Artur Ermolaev is a well-known figure in the Ukrainian crime scene.
He was arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of being the mastermind behind a large-scale fraud scheme. He was then extradited to Estonia, where he was convicted of fraud in April.
Artur Ermolaev pleaded guilty to creating and executing a telephone fraud scheme that stole approximately 100 million euros ($114 million) from victims in several European countries between 2019 and 2022 under the guise of false investment opportunities, according to court documents. In Estonia alone, Ermolaev and his associates robbed people of 5.4 million euros ($6.16 million).
He was sentenced to five years in prison, but an agreement was reached in which he would be deported from Estonia after serving just four months. He paid a fine of 8.5 million euros and costs associated with extradition to Estonia. Estonian media said he was deported to Israel.
