In late 2002 the Monaco Palace was a mess--according to several inside sources: Prince Rainier had become weaker and more reclusive than ever, and demanding of his son's presence. His daughters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, apparently despised one another and stayed away, not wishing to be present at the Palace at the same time, lest it lead to fisticuffs, as it allegedly had by the pool. On top of that, the Prince's personal secretary, Mirielle Viale, did not get along with her two assistants. No wonder Albert loved to get out of Monaco. Robert Eringer, Prince Albert's spymaster, wanted to see him, but the Prince was traveling in Mexico and then the United States until December 12th.
And so it was the evening of December 15th (2002) that Eringer next briefed the Prince, with Piers present, in a room at Hotel Columbus.
They brought the Prince up to scratch on MING, having reason to believe that notorious personalities in the Russian criminal underworld had, between 1996 and 2001, passed hundreds of millions dollars through MING's Monaco company. Most of this was allegedly generated by illegal arms sales. A key figure in such dealing was said to be a Russian named Viktor Bout a.k.a. "The Bill Gates of Arms Dealing," through his private airline Air Cess.
Because of MING's self-proclaimed connection to the U.S. President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, Eringer proposed that this intelligence be conveyed to the FBI. Prince Albert concurred and authorized Eringer to deliver his report on MING to senior officials at FBI headquarters in Washington DC.
But of paramount concern to the Prince this December day was Alexey Fedorichev. A decision had to be made within days on whether or not to allow the Russian to invest in ASM, Monaco's football team.
Eringer had determined, through various levels of sourcing, that Fedorichev was of dubious character; that his Monaco-based company, Fedcominvest, allegedly engaged in money laundering, especially with regard to its dealings with a company called Astrahangasprom. Furthermore, both the Italian and French special services suspected that Fedorichev linked to the Red Mafia. Eringer also learned that Fedorichev had cultivated a personal relationship with a senior Monegasque politician, whom he allegedly engaged in illegal business transactions.
And so, on December 19th, the Palace publicly announced Fedorichev's disqualification from investing in ASM football.
Coming Next: Enter the FBI