Prince Albert's Legal Troubles Explained

Prince Albert has arguably accumulated a lifetime worth of scandals. Ever since his ascension in 2005, the reigning prince of Monaco has faced a string of sticky situations. The first, which occurred days before he took the throne, involved rumors of a secret royal love child. Indeed, it was revealed that Prince Albert had fathered a boy called Alexandre Grimaldi out of wedlock. Albert eventually claimed paternity of his son — and of a secret daughter, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, as well. These incidents only accentuated rumors that Albert was the "playboy prince."

Years later, scandal would once again swirl through the streets of Monaco when the prince announced that he would be planning a luxurious wedding with Zimbabwe-born Olympic swimmer, Princess Charlene. However, days before Albert and Charlene's wedding, it was alleged the couple was planning to split. Making matters more dramatic, there were whispers that Charlene wanted to escape Monaco in order to avoid the wedding.

Since then, most of the rumors involving Albert and Charlene's marriage have died down. However, in 2021, the prince once again found himself in the spotlight when a financial scandal in the principality began to impact those closest to him. Since then, his advisers have fallen one-by-one to legal investigations, and questions have arisen over the legality of Albert's own transactions. By 2024, the prince became one of the scandal's central figures.

The drama involving Prince Albert and his advisers began in 2021 when an anonymous individual began uploading documents to Substack titled, "Les Dossiers du Rocher." The documents originally alleged that Albert's financial adviser, Claude Palmero, and his chief-of-staff, Laurent Anselmi, were involved in a multi-million euro corruption scheme. Later, though, the allegations also extended to Thierry Lacoste, Albert's long-time lawyer and childhood friend. One document, which was shared to Substack in 2022, claimed that Lacoste had even done unethical business dealings with a number of Russian oligarchs. 

At the time of the publication of these documents, Albert defended his staffers. However, by the summer of 2023, the prince changed his tune. As reported by the Daily Mail, he told the French press, "When questions arise, you need to know how to change the people who surround you to find the right path again and to write a new page in your history ... If confidence evaporates, you can no longer work together." As such, he asked Palmero and Anselmi to resign from their long-held positions. He also tried to minimize his friendship with Lacoste — at least publicly.

Despite this, all of the parties named on the Substack remained convinced of their innocence. They have all filed complaints, denying the allegations. Palmero, for one, told the French newspaper, Le Monde, "I've never taken a cent. This is a 100% denial. I am neither corrupt, nor am I a thief."

As much as Claude Palmero tried to deny the allegations made against him, the Monégasque government decided that an official investigation was in order. In July 2023, police raided the homes of several of Prince Albert's former staffers — including Palmero and Laurent Anselmi. As reported by Monaco Life at the time, the staffers' primary residences, vacation homes, and offices were all likely subject to search. Neither man was arrested following the raid, but Palmero was particularly upset by the invasion of his personal property.

The prince's former financial adviser has gone on the record stating that the Substack allegations made against him were unverified and did not merit such an intense response. As Palmero stated in a press release, the "campaign" against him has been "nourished by fake documents, malevolent accusations, and fallacious insinuations" (per Monaco-Matin).

Making matters more complicated, Palmero took the search very personally, as he had a longstanding relationship with Monaco's princely family. Prior to stepping down from his role, he had consistently served as Albert's financial adviser for 18 years. Before that, Palmero's own father had served as a financial adviser to Albert's late father, Prince Rainier III. Speaking to Le Monde, Palmero complained that he had "devoted" decades to the Grimaldis and hinted that he felt betrayed by the palace. He even said that the accusations against him were "unfair."

Claude Palmero was clearly distraught over the accusations made against him in "Les Dossiers du Rocher." However, he seemed even more upset about Prince Albert's decision to cut him from the palace team. As reported by France24, Palmero sued Albert in August 2023. The lawsuit reportedly requested Palmero's immediate reinstatement at his palace job, as well as 1 million euros in damages.

In his case, Palmero claimed that "no reason has ever been given to justify" his sudden loss of work. He went on to cite the raid of his home as another violation of his rights, calling it "injury and disruption to living conditions." Palmero also alleged that Albert had caused him "immense moral harm." This would not be the last time that the accountant made such a statement. In a later interview with Le Monde, the financial adviser would reveal that he had started to take anxiety medication following his abrupt firing from his palace post.

Unfortunately for Palmero, the Monégasque court system threw out the case because of Albert's position as the reigning prince. Per Monaco Life, the principality's Supreme Court justified the decision in September 2023, stating, "The organization and functioning of the sovereign house and are not detachable from the person of the sovereign prince, escape the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court."

In January 2024, Claude Palmero decided to take matters into his own hands. Using a Dutch phone number, he contacted French investigative newspaper, Le Monde, and proceeded to make a number of shocking accusations against Prince Albert and the Monégasque royal family. Palmero was then persuaded to leak the contents of five diaries, which detailed the Grimaldi family's spending habits.

According to Palmero's documents, the Monégasque royal family engaged in a number of shady real estate dealings in order to avoid taxation. The accountant alleges that, in 2011, he purchased several properties in France — to be inhabited by Albert's nieces and nephews. The idea here, according to Palmero, was to prevent the French government from discovering that the royals were living in France. After all, people who live in France owe taxes to the French government, and, per Palmero, Albert's family wanted to live in France without paying the appropriate taxes.

Palmero told Le Monde, "I took these risks on their behalf, obviously in agreement with or at the request of the prince." Albert's lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, denied these claims, telling the paper, "Mr. Palmero put property belonging to the family in his name." He then went on to assert that the family had no knowledge of this situation.

Financial documents were not the only scandal that emerged via Claude Palmero's conversation with Le Monde. The disgraced accountant also made accusations against Princess Charlene. According to Palmero's personal diaries, Charlene hired a number of royal nannies — who were not necessarily in line with royal rules or legalities. At least two were said to have been working in Monaco illegally, and one was believed to lack any kind of valid identifying document.

One entry in Palermo's diary reportedly reads, "Update on the hiring of nannies ... We're in the middle of an illegal situation (even their tourist visas expired on January 7)." In another entry, he added, "Not only are they in an illegal situation, but one entered with a fake passport." The financial adviser concluded, "HSH the princess employs people who are not legal." He also stated that Albert had taken "note."

The prince's lawyers, however, claim that Albert had no knowledge of any employees working illegally at the palace. Jean-Michel Darrois told Le Monde, "At the palace, Mr. Palmero was solely responsible for human resources and recruitment. The prince does not intervene in such matters." Further, he assured the press that the palace was investigating Palmero's claims. "An audit has been launched and, obviously, if it turns out that there have been any irregularities, they will be put an end to immediately," Darrois stated.

Claude Palmero's allegations against Prince Albert did not just touch on his financial problems — they also hinted toward trouble in his personal life. Speaking to Le Monde, Palmero claimed that in March 2012 the prince requested that he rent a "discreet" apartment in the center of Monaco. Apparently, Palmero visited two units, which Albert rejected for their lack of privacy. The accountant ultimately rented a third unit for the prince under the name "Étoile de Mer" or "Starfish" in French. 

Although Palmero never explained why Albert needed a secret apartment, he did say that the prince found himself in a complicated situation just weeks after starting the lease. According to the accountant's books, a mysterious woman asked the prince to pay her €100,000 in exchange for a number of compromising photographs. In his diary at the time, Palmero reportedly wrote, "I followed the orders but warned HSH [His Serene Highness] again that we are not resolving anything: She could have kept a set, had other negatives."

Ultimately, Palermo said that the woman in question never solicited a second payment. However, the fact that the prince even made the payment — at least allegedly — could land him in hot water. The piece in Le Monde claimed that, if these allegations are true, it would be a case of "hidden funds" that were "on the border of legality." 

Of all the accusations Claude Palmero made against Prince Albert, perhaps the most confusing related to offshore bank accounts. According to the accountant in his conversation with Le Monde, the Monégasque royal family has a number of accounts in tax havens like Panama and the British Virgin Islands. This revelation was viewed as odd by many, seeing that Monaco itself is famous for its lack of income tax on residents. However, Albert's lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, confirmed the existence of the accounts to AFP (via Barron's).

"Offshore companies were indeed created in Panama in 1984 in the time of [Albert's father] Rainier III," the lawyer said. Darrois then went on to claim that Albert had asked Palmero to "resolve the situation" on more than one occasion. The lawyer also alleged that Palmero had neglected to pay the fees on these accounts for years.

Palmero's lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, said that Albert had been aware of the money he owed to the banks. "Palmero never did anything without the knowledge of those employing him. Quite the contrary. It was always done in perfect agreement with them and in their strictest interest," Canu-Bernard said. If these claims are true, it would mean that Albert intentionally avoided paying the fees he owed. The prince, of course, denies this.

Following Claude Palmero's decision to speak to Le Monde, Prince Albert decided to release a statement of his own. Speaking to Le Point in April 2024, Albert tried to brush off the allegations put forth by his former adviser. "It's a difficult time, but I am optimistic for the future. It is unsettling for the principality and hurtful on a personal level, but the institutions are solid," he said (via Monaco Tribune). Albert went on to add, "Claude Palmero makes himself out to be the man who will bring down the regime, but it seems to me that he is more of a litigant than a credible vigilante."

The prince also joined in on the allegations made against Palmero in "Les Dossiers du Rocher," claiming that the accountant had been "working on behalf of his clients, property developers operating in the principality, to the detriment of the state's interests."

As reported by Monaco-Matin at the time, Palmero said that he would respond to the prince's statements with a "strong defamation claim to re-establish the truth and establish the facts based on tangible evidence" (per Monaco Tribune). In the past, he has also threatened to bring his case against Albert to the European Court of Human Rights — making the situation a scandal that the Monaco royal family may never erase.