Vadim Ermolaev, who made his fortune in commerce following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a “large variety of enemies” since fleeing his native Ukraine round a decade in the past, writes France correspondent Peter Allen.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky authorised sanctions towards Ermolaev in December 2023 because of his drinks enterprise in Russian-occupied Crimea. He produces a “geographically protected Crimean wine for the Russians”, which remains to be bought in Europe and the US, in accordance with an investigating supply.
The oligarch can be a co-owner of Versobank, an Estonian financial institution which had its licence suspended by the European Central Financial institution in March 2018 for the “systematic violation of anti-money laundering laws”.
Ermolaev’s eldest son, 36-year-old Artur Ermolaev, was arrested by police in Cyprus on the finish of 2025, following claims that each he and his father had been making hundreds of thousands from fraudulent name centres concentrating on EU residents. Each Ermolaevs deny any wrongdoing in relation to their enterprise actions.
Ermolaev was initially an actual property developer in his dwelling metropolis of Dnipro, central Ukraine, the place he arrange his massively profitable Alef Group.
Lately, the household has been dwelling in Monaco, the place Ermolaev was recognized for parking his Ukrainian-registered Bentley exterior the Monte Carlo On line casino. He additionally owned an excellent yacht flying the Ukrainian flag and owned a high-security villa in close by Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Ermolaev has stated that the Ukrainian tax system is “very unfair”, prompting him to imagine Cypriot nationality in 2019.
Vadim Ermolaev(Picture: vadymiermolaiev.information)
