Vadim Ermolaev, who made his fortune in commerce following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a “huge number of enemies” since fleeing his native Ukraine around a decade ago, writes France correspondent Peter Allen.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky authorised sanctions against Ermolaev in December 2023 as a result of his drinks business in Russian-occupied Crimea. He produces a “geographically protected Crimean wine for the Russians”, which is still sold in Europe and the United States, according to an investigating source.
The oligarch is also a co-owner of Versobank, an Estonian bank which had its licence suspended by the European Central Bank in March 2018 for the “systematic violation of anti-money laundering legislation”.
Ermolaev’s eldest son, 36-year-old Artur Ermolaev, was arrested by police in Cyprus at the end of 2025, following claims that both he and his father were making millions from fraudulent call centres targeting EU citizens. Both Ermolaevs deny any wrongdoing in relation to their business activities.
Ermolaev was originally a real estate developer in his home city of Dnipro, central Ukraine, where he set up his hugely successful Alef Group.
In recent years, the family has been living in Monaco, where Ermolaev was known for parking his Ukrainian-registered Bentley outside the Monte Carlo Casino. He also owned a super yacht flying the Ukrainian flag and owned a high-security villa in nearby Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Ermolaev has said that the Ukrainian tax system is “very unfair”, prompting him to assume Cypriot nationality in 2019.