MONACO, July 1 -- A former French intelligence officer has said that Vadim Yermolayev, the Ukrainian-born tycoon critically wounded in a bomb attack at his Monaco residence last Sunday, had been exploring the possibility of staging expert hearings in the European Parliament on corruption in Ukraine in the weeks before the attack, adding a new layer of political intrigue to an investigation that has already consumed two countries' law enforcement resources.

Claude Moniquet, a retired officer of France's Directorate General for External Security and co-founder of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, told RIA Novosti that he had personally discussed the proposal with Yermolayev's team. "A few weeks ago, Vadim Yermolayev ...