Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, who is wanted over the attempted assassination of Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Yermolayev in Monaco, has reportedly been found shot dead near Kyiv
A woman suspected of attempting to murder a Ukrainian oligarch in Monaco has reportedly been found dead.
Vadim Ermolaev, 58, was seriously injured in an explosion outside his property last month and images were released of a person authorities were seeking in connection with the incident.
Interpol identified Anastasiia Berezovska, a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman, as the suspect behind the attack in Monaco on June 30, which left Ermolaev and two others in hospital.
It was initially thought that the suspect was a man, but later police revealed they believe this was a disguise. An arrest warrant was issued for Berezovska, who is suspected of fleeing the scene on foot and then driving to Germany.
An Interpol Red Notice issued on Friday said Berezovska was wanted in Monaco for attempted murder, placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent and criminal conspiracy.
It said she was born in Ukraine, speaks German and last resided in Germany. The notice described her as having dark hair and a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow.
And in a dramatic update, she has reportedly now been found shot dead near Kyiv.
According to Urainian site Pravda, citing sources, two suspects have been detained over her death. One of them is a current officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense, and the other is a former law enforcement officer.
A law enforcement source close to the investigation in Monaco described the suspect as “armed” and “dangerous”.
German police said on Friday that they had searched the rented flat and car of a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman. “Evidence was secured which will be handed over to Monaco authorities,” they said, adding: “The wanted woman is currently on the run.”
Meanwhile, Monaco deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond said the “relative sophistication of the explosive device and the modus operandi seem to indicate that the person who planted the explosive device did not act alone”. He said two men were arrested in Monaco earlier this week but were later released after investigators found no evidence linking them to the attack.
The parcel bomb exploded at the entrance of the apartment block on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla at around 9pm local time.
CCTV footage showed the three victims “returning home peacefully” on Monday evening before the attack, said Christophe Mirmand, Monaco’s minister of state. “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,” Mirmand stressed, adding that CCTV showed the suspect “had walked around the area several times while waiting for the victims”.
“In the minutes before the explosion, [the suspect] was apparently waiting for the victims,” he said. The individual was then seen on CCTV fleeing towards the neighbouring French town of Beausoleil.
