The Palace on Wednesday confirmed that Prince Albert’s Administrator of Properties Claude Palmero has handed in his resignation. It comes amid the so-called ‘Rock Files’ affair which has shaken the Palace.
The Palace released a statement on Wednesday, which reads: “Prince Albert II has accepted the decision of Mr. Claude Palmero to assert his pension rights from 12th June. Aged 67, Mr Palmero was the Administrator of the Property of the Prince and the Sovereign House since 2001. The Sovereign Prince declares: ‘I would like to thank Mr Claude Palmero for the professionalism he has shown evidenced throughout the years spent in the administration of my property and the Sovereign House.’”
Salim Zeghdar, the head of Top Marques Monaco, which opened on Wednesday, has been appointed interim assets manager. Zeghdar is also general director of TV Monaco, which will launch an international television station on 1st September.
Appointed in 2001, Claude Palmero first administered the property of the Sovereign during the reign of Prince Rainier III, and then under that of the current Sovereign, Prince Albert II of Monaco. His role was to manage the personal fortune of the Prince, the Princely Family, and that of the Sovereign House.
The destabilising ‘Dossiers du Rocher’ affair
According to AFP, Prince Albert had tasked Palmero with a number of strategic missions for the Principality. They included an acquisition in Nice airport, the forthcoming launch of TV Monaco, and the Maraterra land reclamation project.
The surprise departure of Palmero, a trained accountant, comes amid a tumultuous time at the Palace. The anonymous ‘Dossiers du Rocher’ website, launched in 2021, accuses Prince Albert’s closest entourage of collusion. Among them are the so-called ‘G4’: his chief of staff Laurent Anselmi, his lawyer Thierry Lacoste, President of the Supreme Court Didier Linotte, and Claude Palmero.
All four have since filed complaints, denying any involvement in corruption, and an investigation into the hacking of their emails has been opened by the French justice department.
The victims of the ‘Dossiers du Rocher’ suspect the Pastor group, led by entrepreneur Patrice Pastor and allegedly excluded from certain property deals, of being behind the destabilisation operation. Patrice Pastor fiercely denies the accusation.
Monaco Life with AFP.
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Photo of the Palace of Monaco on The Rock by Monaco Life