Monaco's ruling family has been facing dark times, with their troubles mounting. The European Commission is moving to add the principality to its list of "high-risk" states failing to meet anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing standards. But the Grimaldi family, which just hosted Emmanuel Macron for the first state visit by a French president since François Mitterrand in 1984, now faces even more unsettling problems.

What was previously simply called the "Palmero affair," after the former manager of the princely family's assets, has now taken on the dimensions of "Monacogate." Claude Palmero's recent statements to Monaco's police gave a glimpse of an approaching storm. On February 5, he stated: "His Serene Highness [Prince Albert II] wanted as few written records as possible, and wanted his assets to be opaque." The accountant then provided investigators with documents to support his accusations.

Before being dismissed in spring 2023, the austere 68-year-old had long been Prince Albert II's right-hand man. In a curious twist of irony, it was at the instigation of the sovereign himself, who signed numerous complaints against him, that the Monaco police questioned Palmero on multiple occasions in recent months. In total, Palmero underwent 10 interrogations, six of them while formally in custody. Yet, by launching such proceedings, Albert opened a Pandora's box: The man who had stood by his side for 20 years knew all the princely family's secrets, especially those regarding the financial assets he managed.

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