Who hired the bucket hat bomber? Oligarch blown up in Monaco was sanctioned by Ukraine, 'had cut deals with Russia', only to badmouth Putin… and 'had multiple links to criminal underworld'

By IMOGEN GARFINKEL - SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:34, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 17:34, 1 July 2026 On Monday night in Monaco, a mysterious bucket hat-wearing man was captured on CCTV footage fleeing the wealthy principality in the direction of the French town of Beausoleil. Earlier that evening at 9pm, a Ukrainian oligarch was left fighting for his life in hospital after a booby-trapped device exploded at the entrance to his lavish apartment building. Vadym Iermolaiev, who was sanctioned by Kyiv for allegedly selling wine in Russian-occupied Crimea, had sought to escape his war-torn homeland for life in the glitzy tax-haven. But as he strolled through his lobby at night, a backpack full of bolts and buckshot exploded in the doorway, leaving him and a woman - reportedly his mistress - with life-threatening injuries. Now, more than 100 Monaco and French police are in pursuit of the shadowy figure who deposited the backpack at his apartment on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla in Monaco’s La Rousse district - a quiet enclave coveted by the ultra-wealthy. The millionaire's female companion had to have her legs amputated following the attack, according to Ukrainian media, while a 13-year-old boy, believed to be her child, was thrown nearly 50ft by the force of the explosion. Investigators are trying to ascertain who was responsible for hiring the bomber and ordering the assault, which is being treated as an attempted murder as opposed to an act of terrorism by Monaco prosecutors. The brazen attack on a notable public figure is likely to spark accusations of involvement by Moscow or Kyiv, whose deadly shadow war of assassinations has been steadily escalating since 2022.  While Iermolaiev was perceived negatively as a draft dodger by his native country, friends have described him as resolutely non-political - raising a number of questions about who would want to kill him. It has been alleged that the real estate developer had links to a €100million call centre fraud scheme, however, fueling speculation that the attack may have been the work of the criminal underworld. Vadym Iermolaiev - a Ukrainian oligarch - suffered multiple shrapnel wounds after a backpack full of nuts and bolts exploded in the foyer of his apartment block in Monaco Members of a bomb disposal team operate the day after an alleged attack involving an explosive device in the lobby of a residential building, in Monaco on June 30 Images of the man who targeted Iermolaiev at the iconic Sun Palace flats were captured on CCTV, and he is still at large Iermolaiev, who made his fortune in commerce following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a huge number of enemies since fleeing his native Ukraine around a decade ago. Forbes listed him as the 45th wealthiest Ukrainian in 2021, a year before Russia’s full-scale invasion, with a fortune estimated at $225m (£170m).  Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky authorised 10-year sanctions against him in December 2023, because he allegedly continued to trade alcohol in occupied Crimea. His assets were frozen and he was prohibited from doing business after Ukraine accused him of having paid millions of dollars in taxes to the Russian treasury. He produces a 'geographically protected Crimean wine for the Russians', which is still sold in Europe and the US, claimed an investigating source. Iermolaiev has denied holding any assets in Crimea or co-operating with Russia in any capacity.  He called the allegations 'completely surreal' and claimed Russia seized his grape growing and cognac enterprise in Crimea when it annexed the peninsula in 2014.  'We lost everything,' he said, adding that he had hired a team of lawyers to get the sanctions against him lifted.  Iermolaiev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and has since been solely a Cypriot citizen. In a 2024 interview with Forbes Ukraine, the oligarch said he had given up his Ukrainian citizenship because he wanted 'international protection'. 'The Ukrainian judicial system, to put it mildly, is not ideal, and the tax system is not objective,' he told the magazine. In recent years, he has been living in luxury in Monaco and is known for parking his Ukrainian-registered Bentley outside the Monte Carlo Casino. He also owned a super-yacht flying the Ukrainian flag and owned a high-security villa in nearby Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The tycoon featured in a 2022 investigation by Ukrainska Pravda, the Ukrainian daily newspaper, into the so-called 'Monaco Battalion', an ironic phrase for Ukraine’s 'elite refugees' who relocated to luxury holiday spots during Putin's war. 'It is difficult to understand why Ukrainian millionaires and billionaires – who for decades have weakened the country – chose to "wait out" the war in luxury holiday spots such as Monaco, Monte Carlo and Nice,' Mykhailo Tkach, a prominent investigative journalist, wrote at the time. The article prompted Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation to look into at least 84 wealthy draft-dodgers.  'It will take time, but we will get justice,' promised Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a member of parliament, amid growing public rage at the wealthy Ukrainians who live in comfort abroad while their fellow citizens experience daily Russian drone and missile attacks. 'Ukrainian society wants all members of the Monaco Battalion to be punished.' According to French newspaper Le Figaro, investigators are focusing on the possibility that the attack was orchestrated by the Security Service of Ukraine, the SBU. The outlet claimed the attack appears to have been more of a 'warning' than a deliberate attempt at murder. Several sources on Tuesday pushed back at the idea that the assault could have been the work of Kyiv, however. 'He’s an opportunist, not an open enemy,' one individual told the Guardian, with another adding that the oligarch had 'no ideology', 'zero political views' and could not 'by definition be a Russian asset'. 'He isn’t a political person,' somebody who encountered him socially told the newspaper.  'He’s a businessman. Vadym is nicer than 95 per cent of people on that level … He’s always smiling and pleasant to be around, a typical Dnipro Jew. He likes life, tells endless jokes and speaks in a rather stumbling manner.' Shards of glass on a damaged window of a residential building, following an explosion on Monday, in Monaco, June 30 While Iermolaiev wasn't popular in Ukraine, he wasn't enamored with Russia, and made a number of comments condemning Putin's full-scale war. In a 2024 interview with Ukrainian publication RBC, he claimed that the equivalent of £20m of his business assets had been plundered by Moscow and that a missile strike had destroyed his private jet in a hangar attack at Dnipro airport. 'By my very nature and by definition, I cannot have any ties to the occupiers,' the tycoon said at the time.  'The only thing I have is immense hostility towards the devastation Russia has brought to Ukraine, to my family, my loved ones and everyone who lives in Ukraine.' 'I despise our enemies and believe that they will bear responsibility for the grief they brought to Ukrainian land and to my hometown,' he said, adding that he gave money to Ukraine’s armed forces. Acled, a global conflict monitor, recorded nine attempted or successful Russian assassinations in Ukraine between 2023 and August 2025, with targets ranging from nationalist figures to serving intelligence officers. But Kyiv is winning the shadow war. In the first eight months of 2025, the number of assassination attempts by Ukraine inside Russia had already exceeded the annual totals for 2022, 2023 and 2024. The targetted killings have also stretched beyond the streets of Kyiv and Moscow.  Last May, former Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov was killed in Madrid. A year earlier, Maxim Kuzminov – a Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine – was shot dead in Alicante.  Monaco's emergency services were deployed in the area of the explosion A more plausible explanation for Monday night's bomb attack might be claims that the property tycoon was connected to an alleged call centre scam. Ukrainian police sources have claimed that the violent attack is directly linked to a network of fraudulent call centres in Dnipro, Ukraine, allegedly used to carry out large-scale financial scams across Europe. The Iermolaiev family is alleged to have played a significant role in the scheme, with the oligarch's name reportedly at the centre of a sprawling pan-European investigation into clandestine call centres operating out of Ukraine. According to sources, the so-called 'boiler room' operations defrauded thousands of investors in Germany, Estonia and Ukraine of more than €100m (£86m) between 2019 and 2022, through fake cryptocurrency investment schemes. The network also allegedly sold fraudulent divorce advice to unsuspecting victims. Ukrainian law enforcement sources say that French investigators believe the murder attempt may have been orchestrated by members of a criminal network in retaliation. Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that the attempted assassination stemmed from a failed agreement to divide territory and unpaid debts allegedly owed to organised crime bosses in Dnipro. While Iermolaiev reportedly handled the financial side of the operation, it was his son, Artur, who allegedly ran the network. Artur was arrested by Interpol in Cyprus at the end of 2025 following an Estonian arrest warrant. After being extradited to Estonia, he was accused of creating a criminal organisation engaged in telephone fraud.  According to Estonian investigators, Artur, along with three other defendants, created fraudulent call centres in Ukraine that 'offered fictitious investment opportunities'. He was handed a suspended prison sentence, paid €8.5m, and left Estonia shortly afterwards, according to Meduza. He is now banned from entering Estonia. Both father and son deny any wrongdoing, saying all of their business activities are above board. Initial reports suggested that Iermolaiev's wife, Anna, 56, (pictured) was also injured in the attack, but a Ukrainian blogger has claimed she was not present Anna Nasobina, 46, and her son, 13, were reportedly with the oligarch and injured during the attack Initial reports had suggested that the second victim of the explosion had been Iermolaiev's wife, Anna, 56, the mother of his other four children. But it has now emerged that the millionaire was with his long-time mistress, reportedly the London-based Anna Nasobina. Ms Nasobina, 46, is understood to have had both her legs blown off in the explosion at the residential building, and is now fighting for her life in hospital. Her 13-year-old son was also injured in the attack, but he is now in a stable condition. Ms Iermolaiev told Ukrainian state media outlet Suspline: 'We are currently in a state of severe stress and are actively cooperating with the investigation and law enforcement agencies.' Anatoly Shariy, a Ukrainian political blogger, wrote online: 'During the explosion with Iermolaiev, it was not his wife. 'It was this woman who lost her legs and is on the brink of life and death.' He said: 'Iermolaiev was with his mistress, Anna Nasobina. She has been with him for a long time. They have a common child of 13 years.'  Ms Iermolaiev is not understood to have a child aged 13, with her youngest child, David, reportedly set to turn 17 this year.  Ms Nasobina is now being treated at a hospital in Nice, Christophe Mirmand, the minister of state for Monaco, told French news broadcaster LCI. The three victims were 'apparently returning home peacefully' in the early evening, according to surveillance footage, Christophe Mirmand, the minister of state for Monaco said. 'They were caught in the explosion as they crossed the threshold of their apartment building,' he said. 'It appears that the family was specifically targeted,' he emphasised. Monaco public prosecutor Stephane Thibault said as of Tuesday the man had been stabilised, but the woman's condition remained 'life-threatening'. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. 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