Monaco IDs suspect in bomb attack on Ukrainian oligarch

Monaco authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect believed to have carried out a parcel bombing that seriously wounded a Ukrainian-born oligarch and two others, including a 13-year-old.

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

An Interpol Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a suspect. It is not an international arrest warrant.

Monaco's public prosecutor, Stephane Thibault, said investigators had identified the suspect through "effective international criminal cooperation, both police and judicial."

A judicial investigation for attempted murder and several other charges has been opened against the suspect, who French media report was a woman dressed as a man.

What happened to Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev?

On Monday night, a blast at the entrance of a residential building in Monaco near the French border injured three people, two of them severely.

While Monaco authorities have not officially identified the victims, multiple media reports said the apparent target was Vadym Yermolaiev, a 58-year-old businessman born in Ukraine who holds Cypriot citizenship and is a Monaco resident.

The other two injured were Yermolaiev's partner and teenage son. By Wednesday, the businessman was no longer in a life-threatening condition, while his partner had not yet stabilized. The 13-year-old was reportedly stable.

Kyiv imposed sanctions on him in 2023, alleging he continued business activities in Russian-annexed Crimea and paid taxes to Moscow after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Edited by: Karl Sexton

Don't let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google by clicking here and hitting the "star" or "preferred" button, so you'll always see our verified news first.