Monaco Bomb Horror: Ukrainian Billionaire Fights For Life As Wife 'Loses Both Feet'

One of Ukraine's richest businessmen is fighting for his life after a backpack packed with shrapnel exploded at the entrance of a luxury apartment block in Monaco.

Vadim Ermolaev, also known as Vadym Yermolaiev, was seriously injured in what authorities described as a deliberate explosion on Monday night. A woman believed to be his wife, Anna, reportedly suffered catastrophic injuries, with witnesses claiming she had lost both feet in the blast.

A 13-year-old, thought to be one of the couple's four children, was also hurt but escaped with less severe injuries. The explosion happened at the Sun's Palace apartment building near the French border, prompting a large emergency response and a cross-border manhunt. Police are searching for a suspect who is believed to have planted a backpack containing bolts and other metal fragments before fleeing on foot into neighbouring France.

Manhunt After The Suspect Fled

The explosion reportedly took place at around 9 pm while the three victims were in the entrance of the apartment building. Investigators believe a male suspect left a backpack containing an explosive device filled with nuts, bolts and shrapnel before making his escape.

Witnesses described scenes of devastation. One person said the woman, believed to be Anna Ermolaev, was 'slumped over, covered in blood' and had 'her feet missing' after the explosion. Another witness recalled seeing a 'little boy' lying on the ground covered in blood as someone tried to help him.

All three victims were taken to hospital in Nice. Emergency services also treated four other people for shock and cuts caused by shattered glass.

Marine Cotta, who lives nearby, said the blast initially sounded 'like fireworks'.

She said: 'I could hear the police, alarms, and fire trucks, and that's when I thought: "Okay, something is going on."'

More than 100 police officers and emergency workers attended the scene. Officers later launched a manhunt after the suspect was reportedly seen running towards Beausoleil in France. An aide to France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said police were working 'to find the perpetrator, who has fled'. At the time of writing, no arrests had been confirmed.

Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand initially described the incident as 'an attack' before later referring to it as a 'deliberate explosion.'

He said: 'The explosive device likely contained bolts and shrapnel.

'The three victims were in the building's entrance when the device exploded. It is presumed that they belonged to the same family.

'Police services are currently gathering evidence. To my knowledge, this is the first time in history that such an act has occurred in the principality.'

Prince Albert II also condemned the incident, calling it 'a heinous crime' and 'a shock to the entire Monegasque community.'

Ermolaev's Controversial Business Career

Ermolaev, 58, was ranked the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes magazine in 2020 with an estimated fortune of £173.8 million. Born in Dnipro in 1968, he studied economics before serving in the Soviet army and later built his fortune through real estate development.

He founded the Alef Group, a conglomerate with interests in property, agribusiness, construction materials and manufacturing. He also led the development of the Most-City shopping centre, which was the largest in Ukraine when it opened in 2006, along with a number of office buildings, shopping centres and residential developments.

The businessman renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and became a citizen of Cyprus after leaving Ukraine several years earlier.

His career has also attracted controversy. In December 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on him, including asset restrictions, over allegations linked to alcohol sales in Russian-occupied Crimea. According to several Ukrainian media outlets, the sanctions were connected to suspicions surrounding business activities before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ermolaev has denied any wrongdoing.

A 2022 report by Nice-Matin also linked him to Versobank, an Estonian bank whose licence was suspended by the European Central Bank in 2018. The publication reported that the case drew the attention of Estonia's Money Laundering Data Bureau. Like many wealthy businessmen who emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ermolaev has also faced allegations including money laundering, all of which he has denied.

He and his wife Anna, a dentist and charity worker, have four children, two boys and two girls. In recent years, the family had been living in Monte Carlo, where Ermolaev was known for his high-profile lifestyle, including driving a Ukrainian-registered Bentley and owning a yacht flying the Ukrainian flag, as well as a villa in nearby Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.