Monaco bombing investigation twist: Suspect identified as a Ukrainian woman

In a major twist in the investigation of a bombing in Monaco that injured three people, including a business tycoon from Ukraine, prosecutors on Friday said the suspect is a Ukrainian woman.

Interpol, the international criminal police organization, issued a "red notice," or arrest warrant, for 39-year-old Anastasiia Berezovsk, identified as the suspect in the June 29 bombing at an apartment building in the Mediterranean sovereign principality, known for its casino and wealthy residents.

Investigators previously described the suspect as a man, but during a news conference on Friday, prosecutors said Berezovsk was allegedly dressed as a man during the package bomb attack.

Berezovsk, who authorities believe lives in Germany, remained at large on Friday. Prosecutors said investigators managed to identify her as the suspected bomber by combing through hours of surveillance video that recorded her at the scene of the attack.

Authorities have not named the three people injured in the incident. Still, French media reports, citing law enforcement sources, have identified the victims as a 58-year-old multimillionaire Ukrainian business tycoon with Russian ties, his 13-year-old son and the boy's 46-year-old mother.

The victims were all seriously injured, but survived the bombing, authorities said. The 58-year-old victim and his son are in stable condition at a hospital, while the 46-year-old female victim remains in critical condition, officials said.

"This new identification of the individual in question led to the discovery of a vehicle used by the person, notably in the Principality of Monaco, and to the identification of its German license plate," Monaco Deputy Prosecutors Morgan Raymond said of the suspect during a news conference in Monaco on Friday.

Raymond said investigators traced the suspect's escape route, alleging Berezovsk fled Monaco immediately after the attack, crossed into southern France and drove to Italy.

He said Monaco investigators, helped by international law enforcement, were able to track the suspect "all the way to the driver's country of residence," Germany.

Raymond said investigators have placed Berezovk at the scene of the bombing.

"The suspect had positioned themself on a bench at Place des Moulins shortly before the arrival of the three direct victims, who were returning on foot from dinner at a seaside restaurant," Raymond said.

"Upon seeing them, the suspect stood up, staying a few meters ahead of the victims, and placed an explosive device, which had been taken from her tote bag, on the entrance steps of the residential building where the victims were heading," Raymond added.

He said the suspect then turned around to confirm the presence of the three victims on the steps and "detonated the bomb with the help of a remote control."

The blast occurred around 9 p.m. local time at the entrance of the apartment building and was felt as far away as Nice, France, 13 miles away, Stéphane Thibault, Monaco’s prosecutor, said at an earlier news conference.

Raymond said on Friday that an exhaustive review of video surveillance footage from the days leading up to the explosion allegedly captured Berezovk making several reconnaissance visits to the building.

The prosecutor said that the suspect was seen on security video on June 26 around 10:30 p.m. and again on June 27 at 7 a.m. outside the building allegedly wearing the same outfit she wore during the bombing and carrying the same tote bag.

"These new images, combined with a witness statement obtained on the evening of the incident from someone who had interacted with the suspect, led investigators to focus on a woman who appeared to have disguised herself as a man," Raymond said.

A motive for the attack remains under investigation.

Raymond said investigators do not believe the suspect acted alone.

"Indeed, the relative sophistication of the explosive device and the modus operandi suggest that the person who planted the device did not act alone," Raymond said.

Two men were initially detained for two days and questioned, but the detention orders were later lifted after the investigation "failed to establish any active involvement" in the bombing," Raymond said.

German authorities on Friday said they searched a rented apartment and a vehicle belonging to the suspect in the Main-Taunus district of Hesse, Germany.

"Evidence has been secured and will be handed over to the Monegasque authorities. The Hessian security authorities are supporting the Monegasque authorities in their investigations and are in close contact with the," said a joint statement from the German attorney general's office, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Frankfurt and the Hessian State Criminal Police Office.