Hannah McKay/Reuters
A long running sleaze scandal in Monaco, fueled by an anonymous blog and data dumps, could result in embarrassment for Prince Albert, the principality’s ruler, after a sacked senior courtier hinted he will sue Albert for defamation.
The disgraced courtier is Claude Palermo, Albert’s former asset and wealth manager, who was first hired by his father, Prince Rainier, the widower of Grace Kelly. Palermo was often described as Albert’s éminence grise and has long been privy to the innermost workings of the eye-watering property deals in the tax haven, where prices are over twice those in Manhattan on a square-foot basis.
Palermo came under attack in an anonymous Substack, Les Dossiers du Rocher (Monagesques call Monaco “Le Rocher,” which means “The Rock”). A little over two years ago, it began dumping incriminating and embarrassing documents and emails online.