Monaco Judge Brice Hansemann

MONACO —A dramatic set of events has unfolded in what is rapidly becoming one of the most controversial divorce-related scandals in recent memory, involving alleged police corruption, international asset seizures, support for terrorism, and recently revealed recorded conversations proving obstruction of justice.

Pamela Hachem, divorced since 2018 from financier James, is at the center of the unfolding scandal. Court records confirm that James’ ex-wife had signed a prenuptial agreement prior to the marriage, one that significantly limited her financial claim in the event of divorce.

Despite this, sources say she became increasingly frustrated with the settlement, believing she was entitled to half of James’ total wealth, particularly amid suspicions that he held undisclosed accounts and assets overseas.

Allegations of Misusing Police Power

According to emerging reports, Pamela turned to a personal connection: Mylène Gambarini, a police captain in the Monaco national police, alleged to have influence within international enforcement channels. It is claimed that at Pamela’s urging to identify assets and bank accounts of her former husband, Captain Mylène initiated a criminal investigation into James’s finances in 2021 after the ex-husband evicted his ex-wife from his Monaco residence.

Monaco Police Corruption Caught on Tape

Captain Mylene Gambarini (aka Mylene Dargent) of Monaco's National Police Department is suspected of high-level corruption. According to newly revealed allegations, the senior police officer authorized an investigation into James’ finances on behalf of his ex-wife, which eventually led to the freezing of assets and bank accounts valued at approximately 100 million US dollars.

The police captain allegedly worked in concert with Nathalie Hachem, the sister of Pamela Faris Hachem, to also extort a million euros from her ex-husband.

According to James, he met and communicated with Captain Gambarini at the officer’s bequest several times throughout 2021 and 2025 and received unsolicited insider information related to the police probe into his finances. He claims immediately after Gambarini informed him of the police investigation, he expressed willingness to be fully cooperative with authorities.

During the first 2 years of the investigation, James recalls his ex-wife Pamela would often brag about her connection to the senior police officer. He recalls Pamela asking him for 35,000 Euros to pay Gambarini for French EU residency on behalf of his daughter which would inadvertently allow her to reside in Monaco. James says he agreed to pay the unusually large sum in cash to Gambarini just to be next to his daughter in Europe.

He further claims soon after payment, he was shown a letter written by police captain Gambarini on behalf of Pamela Hachem to obtain his daughter’s residency. He states the letter was addressed to the Ambassador of France in Monaco, but failed to mention himself as the father.

James insists in her letter to the ambassador of France sent in January 2023, Officer Gambarini literally begged French authorities to grant Pamela’s residency with his daughter due to her status as a single mother. The letter also mentioned Pamela was from Lebanon, a country embedded in war.

James says Gambarini later contacted him in April 2023 to inform that a Monaco judge ordered the seizure of his luxury vehicles. He claims the officer instructed him to transfer ownership of all his cars immediately to his ex-wife Pamela and her sister Nathalie to avoid their seizure.

His response to the senior officer was that he prefers police take possession of his vehicles to allow him the opportunity to operate through the courts as opposed to moving the cars into the names of his ex-wife or her sister.

Unable to convince him to transfer ownership of his car collection to his ex-wife or her sister, he claims the captain recommended he immediately move the cars and vehicle registrations into the name of a local Monaco luxury car dealer for safekeeping.

James claims his ex-wife’s sister Nathalie called later in the day to inform him police had already arrived at his house and confiscated his Rolls Royce Ghost.

The businessman explains he later learned that police had not confiscated the car, and that Nathalie Hachem had forged his signature to move the Rolls Royce registration into her own name without his consent.

When James confronted Nathalie about stealing his car, she allegedly told him, “If you report me to the police, I’ll tell investigators where to find your other cars. Once you make a financial settlement with Pamela and there’s peace, I’ll return your Rolls Royce”.

The car agency owners who received James’ vehicles were later indicted for unrelated fake title registrations pertaining to other non-related vehicles.

Monaco Police Captain Gambarini Recordings

James recently learned Pamela’s sister Nathalie Hachem recorded several unsolicited calls (one call and another call) that she herself coordinated between himself and Captain Gambarini, without being solicited.

Nathalie Hachem can be heard on the call speaking to James in Arabic. Monaco’s National Police Captain Mylene Gambarini is allegedly heard telling James in the recordings she was instructed by Pamela to contact him. The senior police officer articulated she is aware that James and his ex-wife are in a feud and knows updating him about Monaco police and judicial lawful orders could get her into trouble for obstruction of justice.

In at least two of the calls recorded by Nathalie Hachem, police Captain informed James that Monaco had sent British police a request to raid his properties in the UK to seize his assets. The officer mentioned James’ expensive watches and jewelry as if she knew about his collection.

During these conversations, James informed the captain he was in Paris. The officer recommended he go immediately to the United Kingdom. She advised he rent a new apartment under a different name to immediately move his property before British police performed a search and seizure of assets.

Manipulating the System: Fake Documents and Media Collusion

James states his ex-wife and her sister would later reveal images containing the entire police investigation, including all evidence collected by investigators. When asked how he knows if the pictures were authentic, he claims the images were not screenshots. Instead, he describes images taken with a camera directly focused on a Monaco police computer terminal.

A couple months later, he says Captain Mylene Gambarini contacted him at the bequest of Pamela to meet in person. He says the police officer told him she is retiring and asked him to bring 50,000 euros in cash as a consultation fee to receive inside additional insider information about the investigation, and guidance how to get his criminal case closed.

He claims to have brought to the captain’s attention a strange detail he saw in the images (revealing the police terminal) his ex-wife showed him. At the top of one of the pictures appeared a Wikipedia page and he didn’t understand the significance.

He explains the captain told him Monaco police had established a system of working with seemingly credible journalists who could create fake articles and spread negative online content. These fabricated reports, she claimed, were used to justify the opening and continuation of investigations to prolong the seizure of assets.

James claims immediately after giving the captain 50,000 euros in cash, she became vulgar and admitted that it was Pamela who asked her to initiate the money laundering investigation against him to investigate his global assets because she was angry about feeling under compensated by the prenuptial agreement signed prior to the divorce.

James states Captain Mylene Gambarini then demanded he pay 1 million euros in cryptocurrency in exchange for the closure of the investigation that her subordinates at the Monaco Police Department (Direction de la Sûreté Publique) were leading.

James says Mylene told him, “The investigator in charge of the case is Pierre Gregoire Cuif. He works under me and does as I instruct him. We can leak information to our media contacts to create articles, keeping you under investigation for the next decade delaying the release of your assets”.

Gambarini allegedly also told the victim in a private meeting, “Each time you petition authorities to release your assets, we’ll send out Interpol and perform Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (Carin) requests. We will use the time it takes foreign law enforcement to investigate to delay releasing your assets, and leak the material gathered to journalists who will create damaging articles to justify further investigating.”

James claims the officer told him, “The process is standard in Monaco, so don’t take it personally. This will stall your legal efforts indefinitely if you don't make peace with your ex-wife and transfer to her the money she demands to settle.”

The victim reportedly refused to comply with the extortion scheme, but the threats continued. He later discovered that the judge continued to seize bank accounts and the Monaco police used Interpol and the Carin to send false reports to global law enforcement agencies.

James claims he would later learn from Pamela and Gambarini that the Monaco prosecution fabricated details about a criminal history to get global cooperating law enforcement agencies to perform forensic accounting.

He insists he has never been criminally pursued in any jurisdiction globally, nor ever found guilty. He also asserts the only issues he ever had with government were regulatory civil cases related to the SEC in the USA, and tax payments to Canada.

Corruption Allegations Involving Monaco's Elite

In one of the several subsequent private meetings, Officer Mylene Gambarini allegedly told James that she had been Prince Albert’s secret lover for many years, which is how she got promoted to captain of the nation’s police force. According to the businessman, in one private meeting, Mylene showed him private text messages on her phone between herself and the Monaco monarch, as well as intimate media between them.

In another meeting, Captain Gambarini revealed to James that if he deposited one million euros in crypto, she could help him globally with all law enforcement. James also alleges the police officer also told him, “You know I’m helping Pamela with her money laundering case in Lebanon”.

James asserts he had no idea what the officer was talking about and was sure she was lying. The businessman claims the captain would later provide him a document in Arabic signed by Lebanon’s counterintelligence unit stating Pamela was under investigation. The English translated version of the Government document with an official stamp dated October 2025 orders a freeze on all his ex-wife’s money and assets in Lebanon.

James alleges the captain had told him, “Pamela was earning money by laundering cash for the Iranian IRGC and Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon because you refused to give her what she deserves to live in Monaco and Dubai. This is your fault, but I’ll use all my power to get her out of it.”

Upon learning of his ex-wife’s alleged affiliation with terrorist regimes and organization in Iran and Lebanon, James says he told the senior police officer he refuses to pay the extortion demands or continue any communication with the captain or his ex-wife.

Investigation into Alleged Police Corruption and Media Manipulation

The allegations surrounding Captain Mylene Gambarini have raised serious questions about the potential abuse of power within the Monaco Police Force and its alleged collaboration with the media.

If true, these claims would indicate a troubling pattern of police corruption, extortion, and the weaponization of international law enforcement resources to further private interests. It would demonstrate Monaco officials inadvertently aided suspects involved in money laundering on behalf of sanctioned nations and terrorists’ organizations.

An insider familiar with James’ case confirmed authorities in Monaco sought assistance from foreign governments and financial institutions using Interpol and Europol’s CARIN (Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network) network to identify his foreign assets and bank accounts.

James has since learned Monaco authorities indeed abused their Interpol and Carin communications to request foreign law enforcement cooperation by misrepresenting civil litigation with the Canadian Tax Authorities and the U.S. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) as criminal in nature.

An investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that in April 2024, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police informed Monaco officials that James never had any foreign indictments or convictions, and the DOJ (Department of Justice) in the U.S.A confirmed the same.

International defense lawyer Mark Goldstein familiar with cross-border investigations explains: “If law enforcement officers obtain evidence through international cooperation mechanisms like Interpol or Europol’s Carin system by knowingly submitting false or misleading information, that constitutes corruption at the highest level. Courts in many jurisdictions are likely to deem any material acquired as inadmissible because it violates fundamental due process and good faith requirements”.

Goldstein continues to explain, “If there is evidence proving corrupt senior officers leaked information to journalists, or contacted James to obstruct justice by undermining lawful orders, that within itself taints the entire investigation. It opens the door to challenges based on abuse of process, unlawful seizure, and violations of privacy. This type of unprofessional conduct exposes officers and prosecutors to both civil and criminal liability.”

In relation to victims’ rights, Goldstein says, “Any abuse of Interpol or Europol’s Carin system allows victims the right to seeking relief from international courts such as the European Court of Human Rights. As an example, if Monaco authorities sent banks in Liechtenstein a request to investigate or freeze James’ accounts citing false information like a criminal history, the victim could sue Monaco outside of their jurisdiction. Such a move could potentially compel the police and judicial officials to testify on foreign territory.”

Four Judges, Five Years, One Case: Why Monaco’s Judiciary Faces Scrutiny

The case of the Canadian businessman began in 2021 and has since been reviewed by 4 investigative judges over the past 5 years. Each individual judge was appointed by the French President and Minister of Justice for a term of 5 years.

Each of the former judges assigned to the Canadian's case have since been removed from their judicial positions prior to their appointed term's expiry date. This fact alone raises serious suspicion related to their professional conduct.

Former director of Monaco's judicial services, Sylvie Petit-Leclair, was originally made aware of the Canadian businessman's case while she was still working for the principality. She is rumored to have voiced her concerns internally prior to being fired by HRH Prince Albert before moving to private practice.

Sylvie was dismissed by the Monarchy on September 16, 2024, even though her contract was due to expire on May 31, 2025, a decision she is now contesting in court.

In April 2025, she announced her candidacy for the position of Minister of State. In a letter sent to Prince Albert of Monaco she wrote, "Even though the end of my term left a bitter taste due to the reprehensible actions of your advisors, I retain excellent memories of our personal and professional relationship".

In the letter to HSH Prince Albert, she described Monte Carlo's systemic corruption in the judiciary, banking, and real estate sectors by writing, “While Monaco is going through a very difficult period, with its placement on the (banking) grey list and endemic corruption in Monegasque real estate and business, I believe I have the capacity and the will to work effectively alongside you to implement a proactive policy of change, revitalize the rule of law, strengthen the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, which seems to have been undermined recently, and fight against the corruption that is eating away at the country”.

Cleared Funds, Renewed Suspicion: Questions Arise Over Monaco’s Handling of the Case

A former police officer in Monaco speaking on condition of anonymity stated, “A crime is supposed to lead to a criminal, and not the opposite. In almost every country, there are laws against using police resources for private purposes or targeting individuals without focusing on a specific crime committed”.

The investigator explains, “In Monaco, an anonymous report submitted to police pertaining to suspicious financial behavior is sufficient to convert a perfectly law-abiding resident into a criminal suspect. Even a fabricated Wikipedia page could be used to start an investigation. That should demonstrate the power a police captain has over the municipality’s residents, their money, and reputation.”

On April 30, 2024, the head of the investigation Pierre-Gregoire Cuif (who worked under Captain Mylene) wrote an internal police memorandum concerning the source of funds deposited prior to 2021 into James’ bank accounts in Monaco. Investigators linked millions of euros in deposits and transfers to the cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Binance.

James claims to have received notice that Monaco authorities requested from Kraken and Binance cryptocurrency platforms information related to his deposits and withdrawals.

The Monaco police hired the reputable blockchain compliance company “Chainalysis” to perform forensic accounting related to his digital wallets and the origin of his digital assets.

The police captain Pierre-Gregoire Cuif concluded in an internal memo, “The (Chainalysis) analysis did not identify the existence of ‘mixing’ pertaining to any of the bitcoins held. Furthermore, the origin of their acquisition did not raise a need for additional special observation”.

On September 1, 2025, Judge Brice Hansemann, was appointed on the case. Brice, a former French magistrate of the first grade, was appointed for the next five years (by the French President and French Minister of Justice) to be the Directorate of Judicial Services of the Principality of Monaco.

During the six months between September 2025 and April 2026 since inheriting the case, the Canadian businessman's legal team urged Judge Brice to release all of James frozen assets.

Coordinated Timing Raises Questions Over Media Leaks and Judicial Actions

On April 9th, 2026, the OCCRP website released a non-newsworthy article against the Canadian businessman. A quick read reveals the information was a “hit peace” containing very old information with nothing current or “newsworthy”. The article focused on the Canadian businessman changing his name 12 years prior. The article described how the businessman would use his influence and money in the financial sector to raise the value of stock.

They explained he would buy stock, inform contacts via email to also purchase, and then sell his portfolio after it appreciated in value. There was no insider trading, no selling stock without a brokerage license, or anything criminal.

His civil SEC case was based on a technicality. The SEC claimed the emails sent to investors urging others to buy stocks didn’t include a disclaimer that he too was invested.

A person familiar with the decade old SEC case explained, “It’s like buying bitcoin and telling all your friends to buy into the cryptocurrency to raise its’ value. Obviously, James wouldn’t have made effort to urge others to buy the stocks if he wasn’t also invested. So, the lack of a disclaimer in the email wasn’t intentional. Had the disclaimer been included, it’s fair to assume that would have actually improved his earnings and not reduced them.”

The civil case was settled for nearly 4 million USD which was paid over 12 years ago.

More alarming, the OCCRP published pictures on their website of official government issued passports legally issued under the prior and current name change. The revelation of Government issued documents on a public website violates European GDPR and global privacy laws. The material published in the article (legal name change, civil tax, SEC fines, etc) suggests official Monaco government authorities were behind the leaked information, especially since 3 government issued passports representing dual citizenship (under the former and current legal name) were leaked to the public.

This suspicion is strengthened by the fact that on the exact same day (April 9, 2026) of the OCCRP publication, Judge Brice Hansemann sent out additional international cables requesting the cooperation of global law enforcement agencies.

In addition, on the same exact date of publication, Judge Brice wrote a response to the businessman’s legal team informing them that the asset freeze and investigation would continue based on suspicion that the seized bitcoin wallet assets (previously investigated and cleared by Chainalysis) were derived from ransomware.

The timing of Judge Brice’s letter to James’ lawyers (April 9th, 2026), coinciding with the exact date of the OCCRP publication article is very suspicious, especially since the investigation has gone on for over 5 years, involves $100m in seized assets, but still hasn’t rendered any indictment.

The Captain of the Monaco police knew her friend Pamela Hachem was under investigation for financing terrorism, and she can be heard contacting the accused on behalf of his ex-wife and informing him she is aware they are in a feud. The revelation of the tapes, if proven authentic, paints a clear picture of corruption, leaking evidence from an ongoing investigation, and obstruction of justice.

Criminal Case Raises Serious Questions

It would appear this case didn’t start with a crime that led investigators to a criminal. Otherwise, it wouldn’t take five years of investigation, and yet still no indictment.

The loss of the predecessor Judge Sylie’s job, still being litigated in court, gave rise to Judge Brice Hansemann’s position.

Judge Sylvie Petit-Leclair penned letter to the monarchy mentioning bad actors, a need to improve judicial impartiality, and declaring Monaco is full of corruption raises serious legal questions.

Considering the evidence involving senior law enforcement corruption and obstruction of justice, Judge Brice is left with one of three lawful orders.

The first is to criminally indict James immediately. Due to the fact Monaco is using Interpol and Europol to gain global assistance in searching for evidence, the judge can alternatively decide to move the case to a new jurisdiction for further investigation. Judge Brice’s final option is to release James’ money and assets by dropping the case entirely.

Either way, the world is now looking. Should the case against James go public, it seemingly has all the ingredients necessary to later become a Netflix series such as tax haven wealth, police and judicial corruption, obstruction of justice, support of global terrorism, etc.

Between Secrecy and Scrutiny: A Case That Could Reshape Monaco’s Global Reputation

Law enforcement agencies in Monaco, France, UK, Germany, Liechtenstein, Canada, Lebanon as well as Interpol have not yet commented on the specifics of the case. A source close to the case claims James legal team have a mountain of evidence proving police and judicial misconduct.

As the case develops, international observers will be watching closely to see how law enforcement agencies handle this high-profile, potentially explosive case involving extortion, police corruption, and the abuse of media influence in a country which is already engulfed in countless scandals resulting in global banking 'grey listing', and the more recent “Dossiers du Rocher” aka “Files of the Rock” leak.

The “Files of the Rock” revealed a collection of legal and financial documents linked to sensitive criminal cases in Monaco. It included allegations of systemic corruption in sectors like the judiciary, banking, and real estate.