Woman suspected in Monaco parcel bombing reportedly seen in Germany | Monaco
The main suspect in this week’s bomb attack in Monaco is a woman identified in Germany, a judicial source in Monaco told Reuters on Friday.
Three people were injured in a parcel bomb explosion in the wealthy principality on Monday evening. This was believed to be an attack on a Ukrainian-born oligarch.
The principality’s prosecutor’s office said on Thursday: “An arrest warrant has been issued for the suspect who will be the subject of an Interpol red notice from this evening.”
France’s Le Figaro newspaper and BFMTV reported that the suspect, who was caught on security cameras wearing a black fisherman’s hat, was believed to be a woman trying to look like a man.
Monaco prosecutor Stephane Thibault did not address this issue in his statement, but announced that he would hold a press conference shortly before noon on Friday.
He praised Monaco’s police forces and the “effective international criminal cooperation, both in the police and judicial sphere”, which made it possible “to identify the person suspected of carrying out the attack within a particularly short period of time”.
A judicial investigation into attempted murder and several other charges was opened and entrusted to three investigating judges.
On Monday evening, a person left a package in the entrance hall of a small apartment building a few steps from the French border.
Shortly afterwards, an explosive device exploded in this hall as three residents (a couple and a 13-year-old boy) entered, injuring them.
Monaco authorities have not confirmed the identities of the victims, but consistent sources say the attack targeted 58-year-old Vadym Iermolaiev, a wealthy businessman originally from Ukraine and now a Cypriot citizen, as well as his partner and son.
The child was taken to Lenval Children’s Hospital in Nice in a non-critical condition, while the two adults with life-threatening injuries were taken to Nice university hospital.
By Wednesday, the man was no longer in a life-or-death situation, but the woman’s condition had not yet stabilized.
Iermolaiev, who has resided in Monaco since at least 2021, has been subject to sanctions in Ukraine since December 2023 for his business activities in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.
Kiev claims it is dealing in alcohol in Crimea, which Russia annexed, and is paying taxes to Moscow even after Moscow invades Ukraine in 2022.
People will line up to kill the construction magnate in the Ukrainian industrial city of Dnipro, where he made his fortune, a source told AFP.
The bombing shocked Monaco, an ultra-secure microstate near Nice that is the playground of the world’s ultra-rich.
AFP and Reuters contributed to this report
