“Monaco Battalion” and Hundreds of Millions of Dollars: How the Council of Europe’s New Protocol Could Affect Ukrainian Businessmen’s Assets

“Monaco Battalion” and Hundreds of Millions of Dollars: How the Council of Europe’s New Protocol Could Affect Ukrainian Businessmen’s Assets

Monaco signed a document that opens the way to accelerated confiscation of criminal capital hidden behind bank accounts, real estate, nominee owners, and crypto wallets. 14 October 2026, in Strasbourg the principality joined the Additional Protocol CETS No.232 to the Warsaw Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime and on the financing of terrorism.

The document was adopted on 15 May by the ministers of 46 countries, and the first signatories were the European Union, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, and the United Kingdom, the Council of Europe reports.

The protocol provides for urgent freezing of property without notifying the owner, a three-day response to urgent requests, and confiscation of assets re-registered to third parties. In certain cases a court will be able to seize criminal proceeds without a conviction. The mechanisms cover bank funds, crypto assets, and foreign holdings while protecting bona fide owners. Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić stated that criminal money funds organized crime and buys democratic institutions. For the protocol to enter into force five ratifications are required, at least three from Council of Europe countries. They are not yet in place, and the European Union has not even ratified the main convention, signed on 2009.

For Monaco itself, the fight against money laundering has become a question of financial reputation. The principality chairs the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and State Secretary for Justice Samuel Vuelta Simon led the June conference on financial crime. However, since June 2024 Monaco has been on the FATF grey list. In June 2026 the organization acknowledged significant progress in reforms but has not yet removed the principality from the list. Monte Carlo’s financial model dates back to Prince Charles III: since 1869 casino revenues have allowed the abolition of direct taxes for Monegasques.

The Ukrainian “Monaco battalion” — specific surnames, hundreds of millions, and criminal cases. On 6 July journalist Mykhailo Tkach in an investigation for Ukrainska Pravda showed Yuriy Ivanyushchenko (Yura Yenakiivskyi), a former deputy of the Party of Regions and an ally of Viktor Yanukovych, on the French Riviera together with partner Ivan Avramov. Ivanyushchenko is wanted by NABU in a case of alleged seizure and legalization of 18 hectares of state land of the Stolychniy market worth more than 160 million UAH under part 5 of article 191 and part 3 of article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. On 12 August 2026 NABU and SAP completed the investigation. There is no verdict.

Tkach also documented Ihor and Hryhoriy Surkis, who, according to the journalist, rent apartments at Monte-Carlo Bay. Hryhoriy remains a member of the Ukrainian parliament. The investigation names Vasyl Veselyi, mentioned in materials about Timur Mindich’s recordings, Ihor Voronin from the circle around Dmytro Firtash, and sanctioned businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, who was injured in an explosion in Monaco on 29 June. Earlier installments of the investigation concerned Leonid Kuchma, Vadym Stolar, and Serhiy Lyovochkin. The mere presence of these people in the principality does not indicate that their money was acquired illegally.

Rinat Akhmetov appears in the investigation with assets of even greater value. Journalists report a five-level apartment with 21 rooms valued at about $500 million and a 145-meter superyacht Luminance associated with the businessman, which media also estimate at more than $500 million. The apartment’s value is not confirmed by published registration documents, and journalists did not find Akhmetov himself on the yacht.

The protocol signed by Monaco does not yet allow automatic seizure of these people’s property: legal grounds, court procedures, and ratification of the document are required. But its mechanisms are designed for rapid detection of criminal proceeds, including those moved abroad and registered to third parties — with the possibility of freezing without notice and a three-day response period for an urgent international request.