Ukrainian oligarch’s wife speaks out and says she is NOT the woman ‘whose limbs were blown off in Monaco bomb attack’ – as ‘police probe tycoon’s alleged links to €100m scam’

The wife of a Ukrainian oligarch who was targeted in a bomb attack in Monaco announced that she was not the woman injured in the explosion, despite initial reports.

The attack, allegedly related to a €100 million call center fraud scheme, left Vadym Yermolaiev, 56, fighting for his life, with initial reports suggesting his wife Anna, 56, was also in a critical condition.

However, Ukrainian media reported today that the person injured in the explosion was another woman whose limbs, including her legs, were amputated.

According to state media, Ms Yermolaiev was actually somewhere else when the explosion occurred at around 21:00 on Monday. Suspension.

Speaking to Ukrainian media, he said: ‘We are currently under significant stress and are actively cooperating with investigations and law enforcement.’

It is unknown who the other woman is, but it is stated that her 13-year-old son was also hospitalized and his condition is ‘stable’.

Ms. Yermolaiev is not known to have a 13-year-old child, and her youngest child, David, will reportedly turn 17 this year.

French newspaper Le Figaro reported, based on a source close to the incident, that the young man was thrown about 15 meters away by the force of the explosion, and that his mother may have been injured while trying to protect him.

However, Ukrainian media reported today that the person injured in the explosion was not Anna (pictured), but another woman, and that ‘her limbs, including her legs, were amputated’.

Photo: Victim Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian oligarch, suffered multiple shrapnel wounds when a backpack full of bolts and nuts exploded at the entrance of his Monaco apartment block, according to local reports.

Monaco’s Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, told French news broadcaster LCI that the woman is currently being treated in a hospital in Nice.

According to local news, Mr Yermolaiev suffered multiple shrapnel wounds when a backpack full of nuts and bolts exploded at the entrance of his Monaco apartment block.

Monaco’s Foreign Minister Christophe Mirmand said surveillance footage showed the three victims ‘apparently returning home peacefully’ in the early evening.

‘They were caught in the explosion while crossing the threshold of their apartment,’ he said.

‘It seems the family was specifically targeted,’ he emphasized.

Monaco prosecutor Stephane Thibault said that the man’s condition was stable as of Tuesday, but the woman’s condition remained ‘life-threatening’.

He said the explosion was being investigated as an “attempted murder” but was not considered a “terrorist” act.

Ukrainian police sources claimed that the violent attack was directly linked to a network of fake call centers in Dnipro, Ukraine, which were allegedly used to commit large-scale financial fraud across Europe.

So-called ‘boiler room’ operations defrauded thousands of investors in Germany, Estonia and Ukraine of more than €100 million (£86 million) between 2019 and 2022 through fake cryptocurrency investment schemes, according to sources.

The network also allegedly sold fake divorce advice to unsuspecting victims.

Ukrainian law enforcement sources say French investigators believe the attempted murder may have been staged in retaliation by members of a criminal network.

The Yermolaiev family allegedly played an important role in this plan; The oligarch’s name is at the center of a widening Europe-wide investigation into secret call centers operating out of Ukraine.

While Mr. Thibault refused to say who the presumed target of the explosion was, Monaco’s State Minister, Christophe Mirmand, said he was not aware of any specific threats against Mr. Yermolaiev.

Officers in Monaco and neighboring France are searching for a man in a black fishing hat who appeared on security cameras after leaving a package at a residential building near the border, authorities said.

The Monaco government wrote to X: ‘A suspect running towards the municipality of Beausoleil in France was seen on camera footage.’

Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda reported that the assassination attempt stemmed from a failed agreement to share land and unpaid debts allegedly owed to organized crime bosses in Dnipro.

While Vadym, who is currently subject to sanctions in Ukraine, took over the financial part of the operation, it was reported that his son Artur managed the network.

According to local news, Artur was arrested by Interpol in Cyprus at the end of 2025, following Estonia’s arrest warrant.

Shards of glass in the damaged window of a residential building after the explosion in Monaco on Monday, June 30

Members of the bomb squad operate the day after an alleged attack involving explosives in the lobby of a residential building in Monaco on June 30.

Footage of the man who targeted them at the iconic Sun Palace flats was caught on CCTV and he has still not been caught

He was given a suspended prison sentence and millions of euros in criminal assets were seized.

Both Yermolayevs deny any wrongdoing and say all their business activities are against the rules.

Vadym, who made his fortune in business after the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made many enemies since fleeing his native Ukraine nearly a decade ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky authorized sanctions against him in December 2023 because his liquor business in occupied Crimea was still doing business with Russia.

An investigative source said he produced “a geographically protected Crimean wine for Russians” that was still sold in Europe and the United States.

Vadym is also a co-owner of Estonian bank Versobank, whose license was suspended by the European Central Bank in March 2018 for ‘systematic violations of anti-money laundering legislation’.

The family lives luxuriously in Monaco, where they have maintained a very high profile in recent years.

Vadym was known for parking his Ukrainian-registered Bentley outside the Monte Carlo Casino.

He also had a superyacht flying the Ukrainian flag and a high-security villa in nearby Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

Vadym stated that the Ukrainian tax system was ‘very unfair’ and that this prompted him to obtain Cypriot citizenship in 2019.

The explosion occurred at around 21:00 on Monday at the entrance of a house near the French border.

Emergency services treated four other people for shock and cuts from glass shattered in the explosion, Mr. Thibault said.

“As far as I know, this is the first time in history that such an action has taken place in the principality,” he added.

Mr Mirmand told a news conference late on Monday that intelligence services were working to understand the victims’ backgrounds and ‘determine whether others were facing particular threats’.

In previous news from Ukraine, it was stated that the injured woman was Vadym’s wife, Anna Yermolaiev, but it later turned out that this woman was a different woman and the authorities have not yet named her.

This photo shows Monaco’s emergency services deployed near the explosion site

The attack shocked the elite principality on the Mediterranean coast. Prince II of Monaco Albert called it a ‘disgusting act’ and said all the country’s services were mobilized to ensure security.

Laurent Nuñez, one of the assistants to the French Interior Minister, said that the police were working ‘to find the perpetrator who escaped’.

Monaco is a world-famous tax haven on the French Riviera filled with high-value residents.

It prides itself on its crime-free reputation and attracts billionaire businessmen and celebrities from around the world.

But in recent years there have been numerous corruption scandals in the so-called Rock, including allegations of money laundering by mafia-style gangs, including Ukraine.

Monaco’s ruler, Prince Albert, has promised to bring corruption under control with the help of French officials.

Although Monaco is independent, its defense is primarily the responsibility of the Paris government.

After the bomb exploded, Prince Albert described the cruelty as ‘disgusting’ and added: ‘The Principality of Monaco will remain united and determined in the face of violence and crime. The safety of our community has always been a priority; Whatever the threats are, they will remain so more than ever.’