Explosion in Monaco: Who is Vadym Yermolaiev?
On June 29, an explosion in a residential building in Monaco injured Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolaiev. Investigators are treating the incident as attempted murder, with a lead suggesting possible involvement of Ukraine's Security Service.
The Explosion and Casualties
On the evening of June 29, a powerful explosion shook a residential building in Monaco near the French border. According to preliminary investigations, an unidentified man left a backpack filled with explosives and metal shrapnel in the building's lobby. Three people were injured: a man and a woman aged 50-60, and a 13-year-old boy. French newspaper Nice-Matin reported that the woman lost both legs in the blast. Among the injured is Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, who suffered burns and shrapnel wounds. His wife, who was elsewhere at the time, was unharmed.
Investigation and Possible Motives
Monaco Prosecutor General Stephane Thibault stated on July 1 that the incident is being investigated as attempted murder. The search for suspects is ongoing. French newspaper Le Figaro reported that investigators are pursuing a lead suggesting Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) may have been behind the attack. Although French and Ukrainian media, citing sources close to the investigation, have reported that Yermolaiev was the intended target, Monaco authorities have not officially confirmed this. Media have discussed various motives, including Yermolaiev's possible ties to former business partners in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, alleged connections to Russian organized crime, and a possible link to the criminal case involving his son. None of these theories has been officially confirmed.
Who is Vadym 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 built most of his fortune through investments in commercial and residential real estate. The group's businesses also 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 over $200 million.
Yermolaiev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and obtained Cypriot citizenship, citing dissatisfaction with Ukraine's judicial and tax systems. On December 23, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed personal sanctions on Yermolaiev for 10 years, based on a decision by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. The sanctions included 16 separate restrictions, including asset freezes and limits on financial transactions. According to the SBU, the reason was Yermolaiev's business activities in occupied Crimea. The SBU stated that several of his companies continued operating after Russia occupied the peninsula in 2014 and re-registered under Russian law, paying millions of dollars in taxes to the Russian state, thereby allegedly financially supporting Russia's war against Ukraine. One of the sanctioned companies is Alef-Vinal-Crimea, which manages the Crimean operations of Alef-Vinal, one of Ukraine's largest alcoholic beverage producers. Yermolaiev has publicly denied the allegations, saying he did not act in Russia's interests and that the sanctions are unfounded.
Scandals Involving the Yermolaiev Family
In August 2022, Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda exposed what they called the "Monaco Battalion" — a network of Ukrainian businesspeople, politicians and oligarchs who had settled on the French Riviera during Russia's full-scale war. Vadym Yermolaiev was among those named. In August 2024, broadcaster Hromadske reported that a Dnipro-based company linked to Yermolaiev had been selected to supply granite for the first phase of Ukraine's National Military Memorial Cemetery. The company denied the allegations. Hromadske later reported that Yermolaiev had transferred control of the company to his daughter, Sofia Kononenko, in an effort to circumvent Ukrainian sanctions. In December 2025, Yermolaiev's son, Artur, was arrested in Cyprus and extradited to Estonia in connection with the so-called Milton Group, an international online investment fraud network. He pleaded guilty, paid €8.5 million in compensation, and received a five-year suspended sentence.
This is not the first high-profile attack in Europe involving influential Ukrainian figures. In May 2025, for example, Andrii Portnov, a former politician and lawyer with close ties to the regime of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, was shot dead in Spain.
