Monaco Bomb Suspect Found Shot Dead in Ukraine

Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday discovered the body of a woman wanted for a parcel bombing in Monaco, prompting the arrest of a serving intelligence officer and an accomplice on murder charges.

Police found Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, dead from gunshot wounds to the head. She was the subject of an active Interpol warrant.

Berezovska was the primary suspect in an attempted assassination last month in the wealthy microstate.

Her body was found buried in a forest in the Kyiv region, according to Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the prosecutor general, as reported by the BBC. The SBU said Berezovska arrived in Ukraine on July 1, two days after the June 29 attack in Monaco, and that two suspects met her in a car on a highway in the Kyiv region two days later. "The victim traveled a certain distance with them, after which she was killed," the prosecutor general's office told the BBC.

Intelligence Officer Detained

A serving Ukrainian intelligence officer and a former law enforcement official were taken into custody regarding her death.

Law enforcement officials stated the active intelligence operative reported the homicide during a property search.

The operative admitted to unauthorized interactions with Berezovska. He confirmed that he made financial transfers to the fugitive without notifying his command structure, claiming he acted independently.

According to AP, the military intelligence officer said he acted on his own and without the knowledge of his superiors. Both men have been charged with intentional murder committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, the BBC reports.

Investigators uncovered a subterranean space resembling a torture chamber during a raid on the former police officer's residence.

Ukraine's prosecutor general said it had "no evidence" the room was involved in Berezovska's case and that it "simply reflects the profile" of one of the suspects, the BBC reports.

Cryptocurrency and the Monaco Connection

Authorities are now scrutinizing the detained men for potential involvement in the initial Monaco attack.

Forensic accounting revealed the suspects executed cryptocurrency transfers to Berezovska prior to her death.

All evidence collected by Ukrainian investigators has been transmitted to authorities in Monaco.

How the Monaco Manhunt Unfolded

Monaco's deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond said Berezovska spent days casing the residence and was disguised as a man during the attack on June 29, the BBC reports. Three people were hurt, two of them seriously, when a package exploded as they entered an apartment building shortly after 21:00 local time. Clash Report covered the first reports of the Monaco parcel bomb and the identification of the prime suspect.

Authorities believed she fled by hire car to Italy and then to Germany, where special forces searched an apartment rented by a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman in the state of Hesse. Interpol issued a red notice describing her as a fugitive wanted for attempted murder, placing an explosive device on a public road with criminal intent and criminal conspiracy.

Tycoon Targeted in Parcel Blast

The original parcel bombing targeted Vadym Yermolaiev, a 58-year-old Ukrainian-born businessman holding Cypriot citizenship.

The explosive device also targeted his partner and 13-year-old son.

Monaco officials declined to formally verify the identities of the victims. However, multiple sources confirmed Yermolaiev was the intended target.

The blast caused severe alarm in the Mediterranean principality located near southern France. Prince Albert II categorized the incident as a heinous crime.

Yermolaiev, a real estate developer, was named the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes magazine in 2020, with a reported fortune of $230 million, according to the BBC.

The case involves an active officer of Ukraine's military intelligence service. Clash Report has separately reported on Ukraine's intelligence work to erode Russia's ability to bomb its cities. The SBU said Ukrainian authorities have shared all available information with Monaco's officials and are working to identify other suspects in the attack.