Thierry Lacoste, a prominent Monaco lawyer and former legal adviser to His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, has been formally charged with a series of serious offences, including corruption and criminal conspiracy, following several days in police custody.
Lacoste, a childhood friend of Prince Albert II who previously served as one of his lawyers, appeared before an investigating judge on Saturday after being questioned by Monaco police.
According to the Monaco Public Prosecutor’s Office, he has been charged with criminal conspiracy, active corruption of a national public official as part of an organised group, passive influence peddling as part of an organised group, and money laundering.
He has since been released under judicial supervision.
The investigation follows a complaint filed by Monaco property developer Patrice Pastor and is linked to the long-running dispute surrounding the Esplanade des Pêcheurs development project.
The project was abandoned, leading Monaco’s highest court to order the State to compensate developer Caroli to the tune of €136 million, excluding interest accrued since 2018.
Both Prince Albert II, acting in a personal capacity, and the Monegasque State have joined the proceedings as civil parties.
Lacoste’s legal team reacted forcefully to the decision, describing the charges as “a disgrace” and arguing that the case was based on what it called a collection of unfounded accusations.
His lawyers also alleged that Monaco’s judicial system had been instrumentalised in recent years in the interests of powerful financial players, claims that remain strongly contested.
Prince Albert II’s lawyer, Cyril Bonan, responded by saying that individuals against whom the courts believe there is serious and consistent evidence will have to answer for their actions and, in his words, should no longer be able to portray themselves as victims.
Lawyers representing Patrice Pastor, Antoine Vey and Richard Malka, said the criminal charges brought against Lacoste confirmed, in their view, the seriousness of the conduct their client has been denouncing for years.
The case represents another major development in the sprawling political and judicial controversy that followed the emergence in 2021 of the anonymous website “Les Dossiers du Rocher”.
The website published allegations targeting several people formerly close to Prince Albert II, including Lacoste and Didier Linotte, the former president of Monaco’s Supreme Court, accusing them of collusion.
Linotte was himself charged in June 2025 with unlawful taking of interests as part of an organised group and passive corruption. He was the first of the individuals targeted by the “Dossiers du Rocher” allegations to be formally implicated by Monaco’s judicial authorities.
Another former senior figure in the Prince’s entourage, Claude Palmero, who served for many years as administrator of the Crown’s assets, was charged in January with breaching the confidentiality of a judicial investigation.
That case followed the discovery during a search of his home, carried out shortly after his dismissal, of procedural documents relating to proceedings to which he was not a party.
Palmero was subsequently charged again in March, following a complaint from the Princely Family, with breach of professional secrecy and invasion of privacy in connection with articles published by Le Monde in January 2024.
The charges against Lacoste mark a significant new chapter in a legal and institutional affair that has shaken Monaco for several years.
As with all criminal proceedings, the charges do not constitute a finding of guilt, and Thierry Lacoste remains presumed innocent unless and until convicted by a court.