Arrest warrant issued for Monaco explosion suspect

2026-07-03 08:11:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A suspect has been identified in the investigation into a bomb explosion in Monaco that seriously injured a sanctioned Ukrainian multimillionaire and two others.

The Monaco prosecutor's office said an arrest warrant had been issued for the suspect, who they said was a foreign national and no longer in Monaco. They added that an Interpol red notice would also be issued.

On Monday evening, a person was seen on security cameras leaving a package in the entrance hall of a building in Monaco. Shortly afterwards, an explosion occurred, injuring three people as they entered.

Authorities said the incident was being investigated as an attempted murder, not a terrorist attack.

After the explosion at an apartment building near Monaco's border with France, a suspect was seen fleeing towards the French commune of Beausoleil.

While the suspect, who was wearing a black hat, was initially thought to be a man, local media have said the person in question was a woman who was trying to hide her identity.

Monaco's public prosecutor, Stéphane Thibault, did not comment on this, but thanked the police from Monaco and France for their cooperation which made it possible to "identify, in a particularly short time, the person suspected of carrying out the attack."

"An arrest warrant has been issued for the suspect, who will be the subject of an Interpol Red Notice as of this evening," the Monaco prosecutor's office said on Thursday evening.

Monaco authorities have not confirmed the identities of the victims, but according to local reports, the attack targeted Vadym Yermlaiev, his partner and his son.

Yermolaiev, 58, is a wealthy real estate developer who has lived in Monaco.

He is a Cypriot citizen after renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019.

He has large interests in the wine and alcohol business in Russian-annexed Crimea, and since 2023 has been subject to sanctions imposed by the government in Kiev.

He was named the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes magazine in 2020, with a fortune of $230 million (£173.8 million).

The three victims, including a 13-year-old boy, were taken to hospital after the explosion. The two adults were initially said to be in critical condition.

Prince Albert II of Monaco described the incident as an "ugly crime"./CNA, translated by BBC