Claude Palmero still occasionally jogs along the heights of La Turbie, where the view of the Principality of Monaco is breathtaking. But despite the grandiose scenery, dark thoughts sometimes cross the mind of the 67-year-old former administrator of the princely family's assets. Now, the fallen adviser is disowned and disparaged by them. Has he looked behind his back? Should he have taken a different route? "I'm not paranoid," he said, "but I've been told: 'You know you're fighting a lot of very powerful people, we've taken some down for less'."

Le Monde met with this shadowy figure on several occasions – still motivated by his loyalty to Monaco, and keen not to put himself in danger. A man who hates to speak publicly, he is careful to weigh his words and is wary of the telephone. He now answers only on a Dutch mobile. To get to the bottom of his story, seven months after his ousting, we had to gain his trust, consult numerous documents, and verify his claims with witnesses, including Prince Albert II of Monaco's lifelong friend, the lawyer Thierry Lacoste, also now disgraced.

As he challenges the almighty Grimaldi family, who rule the world's richest micro-state, Palmero is left to wonder whether he did the right thing back on January 10, 2001, when he succeeded his father, who was the family's estate administrator during the reign of Rainier III (1923-2005). When the latter died, his son Albert took his place on the throne, and Palmero, a scrupulous and respected auditor and a graduate of the prestigious HEC business school in Paris, remained in his post. Nearly 20 years later, he is accused of embezzling princely funds.

"I've never taken a cent," he insisted. "I am neither corrupt nor a thief, all implausible things of which the royal family, to whom I have devoted myself for two decades, is now unjustly accusing me." Ready to do anything to "restore [his] honor," Palmero went so far as to file a complaint, at the end of November 2023, against members of the family. "All the malicious insinuations and incessant accusations against me are the result of constant harassment and a desire to do harm."

Palmero repeatedly points out that he was born wealthy, thanks to his father's inheritance, and that he has been able to make the most of his assets. When he worked for the Principality, he received a fixed monthly salary of €12,000, to which he added his earnings as a partner in the auditing firm PwC – €1 million a year – plus, for a time, income from his chartered accountancy practice. Simply put, he's comfortably a millionaire. And he spends very little. But the frugal man has, for the past six months, found himself at the heart of a political thriller that could turn into a state scandal.

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