In Monaco, Thierry Lacoste, former lawyer for Prince Albert II, has been taken into custody.

Thierry Lacoste appeared before the Monaco police on Wednesday. According to his office, investigators are acting on a complaint filed by property developer Patrice Pastor.

"Attorney Thierry Lacoste appeared before the Monegasque police on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, who are investigating a complaint from real estate magnate Patrice Pastor, unhappy at not having been granted certain real estate projects in the Principality of Monaco," the lawyer's office said in a statement Thursday evening.

Thierry Lacoste's defense accuses Patrice Pastor of "manipulating the Monegasque justice system for his own benefit." The Monaco public prosecutor's office, for its part, has neither publicly confirmed nor denied the detention.

The real estate file for the Esplanade des Pêcheurs is at the center of the investigation

According to Thierry Lacoste's office, the measure relates to the so-called "Esplanade des Pêcheurs" case. This halted real estate project led the Supreme Court of Monaco to order the Monegasque state to compensate the Caroli company to the tune of 136 million euros, plus interest accrued since 2018.

The lawyer's defense denounces "an absolute scandal" and contests the proceedings initiated against his client.

"This legal episode is a further illustration of the incredible role reversal we have been witnessing since June 2023: those who fought against corruption for years, and whom we could not silence, are now accused of corruption or influence peddling for the sole purpose of trying to gag them," adds Thierry Lacoste's office.

A case opened by the "Dossiers du Rocher"

This procedure constitutes a new episode in the media and legal battle triggered by the publication, in 2021, of the anonymous website "Dossiers du Rocher".

The published documents accused four former close associates of Prince Albert II, including Thierry Lacoste and Didier Linotte, of collusion in connection with real estate projects in the Principality. Those involved denied the accusations.

Didier Linotte, former president of the Supreme Court of Monaco, was the first member of this former entourage to be directly implicated by the Monegasque justice system following these publications.

He was charged in June 2025 with "illegal taking of interest as part of an organized group and passive corruption." This procedure focused in particular on the circumstances surrounding the decision to compensate the Caroli company in the Esplanade des Pêcheurs project.

Claude Palmero is also the subject of several proceedings

Another former close associate of the sovereign, Claude Palmero, former administrator of Crown assets, was charged in January 2026 with "breach of confidentiality of the investigation".

This procedure followed the discovery, during a search of his home shortly after his dismissal, of reports concerning cases in which he was not involved.

Claude Palmero was also charged in March 2026, following a complaint from the princely family, with "breach of professional secrecy and invasion of privacy." This second case concerns articles published by the newspaper Le Monde in January 2024.