Yesterday’s post focused on Rinat Akhmetov’s extraordinary Monaco property purchase.
Today’s follow-up widens the lens.
The risks surrounding ultra-luxury real estate in the principality were not hidden, not sudden, and not new—long before regulators placed Monaco on the global money-laundering “grey list” in 2024.
2017
Construction begins on Mareterra, Monaco’s most ambitious real estate project—114 waterfront homes priced from €16 million to nearly €500 million. Demand from global billionaires is immediate. Screening of buyers is promised. Standards, we are told, will be rigorous.
2018
Ultra-wealthy buyers linked to Russia and other opaque financial networks begin acquiring multiple properties through shell companies and intermediaries. Some transactions exceed €100 million apiece. The money flows easily. Questions come later.
2019–2021
The development accelerates. Monaco’s property market surges to become the most expensive on Earth. Behind the scenes, regulators and banks quietly raise concerns about source-of-funds verification and residency requirements.
2022
Internal communications and preliminary deeds tied to Mareterra circulate among bankers, developers, and officials. The sums involved are staggering. Due diligence becomes more complicated. Compliance scrutiny increases. But deals continue.
June 2024
Monaco lands on the Financial Action Task Force “grey list”—a roster reserved for jurisdictions deemed insufficiently vigilant against money laundering. The designation triggers panic inside the principality and forces immediate reforms.
Late 2024
New anti-money-laundering rules are introduced. Regulators tighten “know-your-customer” requirements. Firms begin facing penalties for failing to flag suspicious transactions. Suddenly, opening a bank account in Monaco becomes harder than buying a penthouse.
2025
Authorities conduct sweeping reviews of property companies and residency records. Wealthy applicants are asked to produce decades of financial documentation—sometimes from banks that no longer exist.
2026
Monaco insists it has cleaned house. Officials declare that stricter rules are permanent. Developers promise the highest compliance standards.
And yet the central question remains:
If the system was working all along—why did it take a global watchdog to sound the alarm?
The Spymaster of Monte Carlo, Amazon
Step inside the gilded world of Monaco—where breathtaking beauty masks a labyrinth of corruption, intrigue, and espionage.
In this electrifying true story, American Robert Eringer is summoned by Prince Albert II—son of Hollywood legend Grace Kelly—to create Monaco’s first-ever intelligence service.
Reporting directly to the prince, Eringer built an extraordinary operation: cultivating secret relationships with the CIA, MI6 and 18 other foreign intelligence services, and key figures on U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees.
He arranged meetings for Prince Albert with CIA Director Porter Goss and FBI Director Robert Mueller III.
He led operations targeting money-laundering networks, exposed mafia influence, and uncovered deep corruption at the highest levels of Monaco’s government.
But when the time came for action, Prince Albert’s courage faltered—and a promised “new ethic” for Monaco crumbled under the weight of old-world power plays.
Set against the dazzling backdrop of the French Riviera, Spymaster of Monte Carlo reveals how truth, loyalty, and power collide in the shadows behind a royal façade.
With out a doubt, you have led a most fascinating life, Robert, I'm sure a great script for an outstanding movie, that would be exciting and captivating to say the least!
your friend in WA ( the real one)
AKJ