The court has remanded Vladislav Reut, an officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate, in custody in connection with the ‘Monaco’ case
The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv has imposed a pre-trial measure on Vladislav Reut, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, who is a suspect in the ‘Monaco’ case. The court ordered that he be remanded in custody for 60 days without the possibility of bail.
During the court hearing, prosecutor Dmytro Tkachuk requested that the suspect be remanded in custody for 60 days without setting a bail amount.
According to the prosecutor, the prosecution believes that Reut’s release poses a risk of him influencing witnesses, obstructing the pre-trial investigation and committing further criminal offences. In the prosecution’s view, a less stringent preventive measure would not ensure the suspect’s proper conduct during the proceedings.
Reut’s defence lawyer asked the court to set bail as an alternative to detention. The suspect himself stated that he was prepared to cooperate with the investigation.
“I am not insisting on bail and am prepared to cooperate fully with the investigation,” Reut said in court.
During the hearing, Reut also stated that, according to his version of events, the shots fired at Anastasia Berezovskaya were fired by another suspect in the case, Vitaliy Zhikovich. According to Reut, he took the blame because Zhikovych was still at large at the time and could, he claims, have harmed his family.
Furthermore, Reut stated that he had refused to kill Berezovskaya. He claimed that Zhikovych then snatched the pistol from him and fired four shots, rather than two as previously reported.
As for the second suspect in the case, Vitaliy Zhikovych, no pre-trial measure had yet been decided at the time of the hearing on Reut’s application. It was announced during the hearing that he was to be brought before the court at a later date.
On 7 July, the Office of the Prosecutor General announced that the body of Anastasia Berezovskaya, who was a suspect in the case of the attempted murder of a family in the Principality of Monaco, had been found in Ukraine.
Law enforcement officers have detained two people on suspicion of her murder: a former law enforcement officer and a current employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
On the evening of 29 June, an explosion occurred in Monaco. The target of the attack was the Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolayev. Yermolayev himself, his companion and his teenage son were injured as a result of the explosion of a parcel containing explosives.
Law enforcement agencies have named Ukrainian citizen Anastasia Berezovska as the main suspect in the assassination attempt. Interpol has issued a Red Notice for her on suspicion of involvement in the assassination attempt on Vadym Yermolayev in Monaco.
