The body of Anastasia Berezovskaya was discovered near Kiev. Interpol wanted as the main suspect in the Monaco bombing case. As a result of the attack, businessman Vadim Ermolaev and his relatives were seriously injured.
In the Kyiv region, the body of Anastasia Berezovskaya was found, who was wanted by Interpol in the case of an explosion in Monaco, where Ukrainian businessman Vadim Ermolaev and his relatives were seriously wounded. According to law enforcement sources, the woman’s body was found on the evening of July 6, it was buried. Sources claim that Berezovskaya was shot.
According to “Ukrainian Truth”the body was found around 23:00 near Kyiv. The publication emphasizes that the information is based on data from its interlocutors in law enforcement agencies; official details of the investigation were not disclosed at the time of publication.
According to the same sources, Two people were detained in the case. One of them is said to be a current officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, the second a former law enforcement officer. Ukrayinska Pravda sent inquiries to the Main Intelligence Directorate and the National Police of Ukraine.
Berezovskaya, on July 3 was put on the international wanted list through Interpol. She was suspected of attempted murder, planting an explosive device in a public place and criminal conspiracy.
Explosion in Monaco
On the evening of June 29, an explosion occurred at the entrance to a residential building in Monaco. The authorities of the principality officially reported three victims, saying that the attack was targeted. According to media reports, among the wounded were businessman Vadim Ermolaev, his companion and a 13-year-old child.
Investigators in Monaco are investigating the case as attempted murder and planting an explosive device in a public place. The version of a terrorist attack, according to representatives of the prosecutor’s office of the principality, was excluded.
Interpol named Berezovskaya as the main suspect. According to an international organization and law enforcement officers in Monaco, the cameras initially recorded a person who was mistaken for a man. The investigation later concluded that it was a woman using a disguise. She was expected to leave Monaco via France and then travel to other European countries.
Reuters reported that investigators were considering the possibility that the suspect had accomplices. The motive for the attack has not been officially established. According to Reuterslaw enforcement agencies in Monaco linked the investigation to an international criminal conspiracy, but did not publicly name possible customers.
The death of Anastasia Berezovskaya did not close the case of the explosion in Monaco, but made it much more dangerous for everyone who could be behind the assassination attempt. The main suspect, whom the international search linked to the attack on Vadim Ermolaev, turned out to be dead near Kiev. At the same time, reports appeared in the Ukrainian media about the detention of a current police officer and a former law enforcement officer. For the investigation, this means that the case of the explosion in Monaco is now inevitably turning into an investigation into who helped Berezovskaya hide, who could coordinate her actions and why she died before a full interrogation.
Let us remind you: on the evening of June 29 in Monaco, a device left near a residential building where Vadim Ermolaev and his relatives were staying exploded. Two adults were seriously injured; a 13-year-old child was less seriously injured. Monaco authorities classified the incident as an attempted murder and not a terrorist attack. The attack and the international search for the suspect were reported Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardianas well as the French media cited “Ukrainian Truth” And RBC-Ukraine.
Version one: cleaning up the performer or liaison officer
This looks like the most logical working version. If Berezovskaya really was not the customer, but the direct executor or the person who connected the executors with the coordinators, after being put on the international wanted list, she became too dangerous a carrier of information.
A person who knows the routes, telephone numbers, addresses of temporary housing, the scheme for transferring money, the method of communication and the order of departure after the operation may not know the entire structure. But sometimes a few names, one meeting or one wallet is enough for the investigation to begin to unravel the entire chain.
According to Ukrainian sources, Berezovskaya could have returned to Ukraine soon after the assassination attempt, and her body was found after information about the international search appeared. This information requires official confirmation, but the sequence of events itself inevitably makes the version of the elimination of a potential witness one of the main ones. The death of the suspect and the detention of two people were reported, in particular, “Business Online”, Radio Liberty and foreign publications, including The Times.
Information about possible cryptocurrency transfers to Berezovskaya deserves special attention. In a number of publications, this is presented as a potential financial trail between her and people from the security environment. But until the publication of investigation materials or court documents, it is impossible to talk about cryptocurrency as a proven channel of financing. For now, this is one of the details that the investigation must check through the movement of funds, electronic wallets, correspondence and contacts of the defendants.
Version two: private operation of people from the security forces
After reports of the detention of a current GUR employee, this version has ceased to be pure fantasy. But it does not follow from this that the assassination attempt was sanctioned by the Ukrainian state, the SBU, the Main Intelligence Directorate or anyone from the top political leadership.
If the information about the detained officer is confirmed, several scenarios are possible. He could have been an accomplice in the crime. He could act outside his official powers in the interests of a private customer. Finally, it could be related to other operational activities used by third parties. At the current stage, none of the options has been proven.
However, the very possibility of the participation of a person from the security environment changes the scale of the matter. Such persons may have access to proprietary information, surveillance skills, conspiracy, weapons, contacts and methods of crossing borders that are not available to a regular criminal group.
French newspaper Le Figarowhich is cited by several Russian-language publications, reported that the investigation was also considering a possible Ukrainian security trace. They wrote about this DW as retold by Sova News, RTVI and other publications. But the formula here must remain cautious: we are talking about a version that is verified by journalists and sources, and not about the proven participation of Ukrainian departments as structures.
Version three: commercial war, debts and revenge
This looks like the second most realistic line after the possible cleansing of Berezovskaya. An assassination attempt with a remote bomb, overseas training and cross-border logistics does not seem like a domestic conflict or an outburst of personal hatred. It requires money, intelligence, performers, surveillance and a willingness to work in Monaco, where any mistake instantly becomes an international scandal.
Vadim Ermolaev
Vadim Ermolaev is a major entrepreneur associated with development, industrial and financial assets. In December 2023, Ukrainian sanctions were introduced against him. They wrote about sanctions “Economic Truth”, “Present Time” And hromadske. This does not prove a motive for the attack, but it does show that there was already a wide range of conflicts and grievances surrounding his business and status.
Possible areas of inspection here could be former partners, competitors, debt obligations, disputes over assets, people who have lost money, as well as structures involved in shadow financial flows. It is this version that looks more down-to-earth than a political thriller: major business conflicts usually involve money, intermediaries and a specific price for the issue.
The case of Artur Ermolaev creates a separate background. On April 30, 2026, an Estonian court, as part of conciliation proceedings, found him guilty of creating and leading a criminal community engaged in telephone fraud. According to ERRit was about a network of call centers, and payments to the state amounted to 8.5 million euros. The case was also written about Business statements, “Fontanka” And Le Monde.
This does not automatically imply that call centers were the motive for the Monaco bombing. But it creates an understandable criminal context: such schemes have victims, former partners, intermediaries, security guards and people who may consider themselves deceived or thrown out of cash flows.
Version four: Khimprom, drug trafficking and the intersection of shadow markets
This line has so far been less confirmed in relation to the explosion itself, but it cannot be thrown out of the overall picture. “Khimprom” is not a random word from a criminal chronicle, but the name of a group that investigative journalists and Ukrainian authorities have associated with synthetic drugs, shadow financial flows and call center infrastructure.
Arthur Ermolaev
They wrote about sanctions against alleged participants in Khimprom and investigations around the network OCCRP / “Investigation.Info”. The publication indicated that the Ukrainian authorities were imposing sanctions against people whom investigations linked to the synthetic drug distribution network.
It is important not to make a logical leap: the presence of a drug cartel, call centers, cash transfers and cryptocurrency in the Ukrainian criminal field does not mean that it was Khimprom that was behind the attack on Ermolaev. But in post-Soviet shadow economies, such markets often intersect through the same instruments: cash, cryptocurrency, security firms, shell companies, front men and access to people in the security forces.
That is why the investigation will have to check not only the direct connections of Berezovskaya and the detainees, but also their possible contacts with shadow financial channels, intermediaries, drug networks, fraudulent call centers and people who controlled the cashing out or withdrawal of funds.
Version five: political order
The political version exists and, after reports about the person involved from the State Intelligence Directorate appeared, it looks less marginal than in the first days after the explosion. Ermolaev was under Ukrainian sanctions, had a conflicting political background and was associated with business in territories that Kyiv considers occupied. This suggests that his figure could be of interest not only to competitors, but also to political groups.
However, there is no public evidence that the assassination attempt was organized personally by Vladimir Zelensky, his office, or officially sanctioned by Ukrainian government agencies. Even if the investigation confirms the participation of individuals from the security forces, this will not automatically become evidence of a state order.
The political version is strong as a media story: sanctioned businessman, Monaco, explosion, international manhunt, intelligence services. But at the moment, a combination of private interests, criminal money, possible power brokers and an attempt to eliminate a person who could testify looks more convincing.
The main question now is not only who left the explosive device at the house in Monaco. It is equally important to establish who knew that Berezovskaya had returned to Ukraine, who maintained contact with her, who could finance her actions, who controlled her movements and why the main suspect died before the investigation had the opportunity to interrogate her in detail.
If law enforcement officers manage to restore her telephone contacts, cryptocurrency wallets, routes, meetings, car rentals and connections of detainees, the case could go far beyond one assassination attempt. If not, the story risks remaining just another international case, where the perpetrator has disappeared, the witnesses remain silent, and the clients disappear between Monaco, Kiev and closed offices.
The material is updated as official statements from Ukrainian authorities, Interpol and the Monaco prosecutor’s office appear.
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