The fugitive reportedly resides in Germany and used disguise when planting a bomb that injured a Ukrainian millionaire
Interpol has identified a Ukrainian woman as a suspect in the bomb attack that injured Ukrainian millionaire Vadim Ermolaev and his family members in Monaco this week.
According to a public red notice issued by the international police cooperation organization on Friday, Anastasia Berezovskaya, 39, is wanted by Monaco authorities for attempted murder and criminal use of explosives in a public space. She may have a snake tattoo on her right arm and speaks German, the report, which includes photos of the woman, said.
The media previously reported a breakthrough in the investigation, stating that the female suspect was likely posing as a man during the attack on Ermolaev and was traced to a European country that was “neither Monaco nor France.” She reportedly resides in Frankfurt, Germany.
Berezovskaya is accused of planting a booby-trapped bag at the entrance to a residential building on Rue Reverend Pere Louis Frolla on Monday evening. The explosion wounded Ermolaev, his long-time partner, Anna Nasobina, who was described as his wife in initial reports, and their 13-year-old son.
According to BFM TV investigative sources, the suspect is believed to be a Ukrainian woman in her 30s, confirming a similar report by Le Figaro. An internal Monaco police note seen by the outlet said the suspect “is likely to disguise herself in a way that makes her appear to be a man.”
The suspect reportedly carried out several reconnaissance passes on the day of the attack. Shortly before 9 PM, she allegedly spotted the Ukrainian family near Place des Moulins and began following them.
She then walked ahead of the family, keeping roughly ten meters in front of them, before heading to the entrance of their building, climbing the three steps to the door, and placing the booby-trapped bag there, according to the report.
The suspect then left the scene in a hurry, turning back to make sure the family had entered the building. The 13-year-old boy was the first to go inside.
The device was detonated remotely as Nasobina, Ermolaev’s partner, passed near the bag, “using an object resembling a remote control,” a source close to the case told BFM TV.
Nasobina’s life remains in danger, and she has had both legs amputated, according to media reports. Ermolaev and the teenager were also seriously injured in the blast.
Investigators are reportedly focusing on two main theories behind the attempted assassination: organized crime or foreign interference. Le Figaro previously reported, citing sources close to the case, that investigators were looking at possible involvement by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), describing it as one of the priority lines of inquiry.
Ermolaev, a Ukrainian-born businessman who now holds Cypriot citizenship, was sanctioned by Kiev in December 2023 over alleged business activity in Crimea. His lawyers have denied wrongdoing and called the sanctions arbitrary and politically motivated.
Former French intelligence officer Claude Moniquet told Nice-Matin that Ermolaev had in recent weeks been preparing to give a presentation at the European Parliament to expose corruption in Ukraine, which he said Kiev may have viewed as a provocation.
The unprecedented bombing has shocked Monaco, one of Europe’s most heavily surveilled and secure enclaves, where many wealthy Ukrainians have relocated since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022.
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