Monaco has always been a glittering jewel full of wealth and scandal, but now new allegations are emerging against Prince Albert, secret bank accounts earmarked for payments to a host of ex-lovers and children out of wedlock and the extravagant life of his wife, Princess Charlene, which is draining him of his fortune.
This devastating financial information was revealed by a former accountant, Claude Palmero, who spent more than two decades at the heart of Monaco's royal family, before being fired last year and accused of embezzlement, which he completely denies and is now determined to take revenge.
Palmero kept notes in a series of five fat notebooks, and excerpts from them made their way to two French newspapers.
According to Palmero's notes, the 45-year-old Princess Charlene, 20 years younger than the prince, spent four months in the hospital due to "depression" and received an allowance of one and a half million dollars a year and yet went into the red by more than half a million dollars.
Relationships that ran aground.
Albert and Charlene,
Two years later, the speed with which Princess Charlene apparently burned through the money worried the prince's accountant so much that he wrote in his notes: "It's crazy, I have no control over her expenses."
Charlene spent nearly $2.5 million renovating a vacation home in Corsica and remodeling her office, Palmero said.
He also claimed she rented another house on the French island where she spent time apart from Albert.
According to various reports overseas, the relationship of the prince and princess ran aground several months ago.
Palmero's notes also show that on April 1, 2016, she asked for $75,000, for no particular reason.
On another occasion, in 2020, Palermo recorded a one-time payment to Charlene in the amount of $220,000 to her bank account, plus $5,500 in cash.
Meanwhile, Charlene's family, especially her brother Sean, also enjoys spending the royal money.
Sean received $1 million to buy a house in 2022.
The numbers in Palermo's notebooks seem to indicate that Prince Albert's turbulent life is draining his bank accounts.
Albert is the only son of Prince Rainier III and former Hollywood star Grace Kelly.
He has two children out of wedlock, Alexander who was born as a result of an affair with a former flight attendant and Jazmin, as a result of an affair with an American real estate agent.
Albert, Charlene and the twins / Photo: AFP
The funds from the secret bank account were transferred, among other things, to Jazmin.
She received 86 thousand dollars every year and Albert even bought her an apartment in New York worth 3 million dollars.
Another amount that came out of the secret bank account was transferred for ransom money for another son, 20-year-old Alexander Kost as a result of an affair he had with a former flight attendant.
In 2015, Alexander's mother convinced Albert to support her fashion business for an estimated amount of about $1 million per year.
Some of the notes in Palermo's notebooks also refer to Charlene's employees.
He notes that she employed nannies and personal assistants, some of them illegal immigrants.
In December 2014, Charlene gave birth to twins, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabrielle, and immediately placed them in the care of nannies who, according to Palmero, were also illegal immigrants.
In 2021, Palermo vetoed the hiring of new workers requested by Charlene, who already had eight workers at her service.
As for Palermo's accusations, Prince Albert said in a statement that "his attacks against me and against the state of Monaco and its institutions show his true nature and the little respect he has for the family and the principalities."
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