Arson in Monaco Kills Billionaire Banker

MONTE CARLO —  Edmond Safra, one of the world’s richest men, was killed in a fire Friday when two knife-wielding, hooded intruders burst into his Riviera penthouse before dawn and then set it ablaze after Safra sought refuge in a locked bathroom.

The 67-year-old Lebanese banker and founder of Republic National Bank of New York had clients in the United States, Latin America and Russia. His slaying shocked the banking world and sent shudders through this quiet principality where royalty, the wealthy and high-rolling gamblers rub shoulders.

Safra and his nurse, Viviane Torrent, fled to a bathroom in the two-story penthouse after the 5 a.m. intrusion, and both suffocated in the fire, Daniel Serdet, the chief prosecutor of Monaco, told a news conference.

Safra’s wife, Lily, and her granddaughter hid in another room and were unharmed. Safra’s male nurse, who had called police, suffered two minor knife wounds in his leg and stomach during a scuffle with the intruders, Serdet said.

The billionaire’s bodyguard, who was supposed to be in the apartment, was being questioned by police Friday night about his absence at the time of the attack, Serdet said.

Serdet said the investigation would study video cameras inside and outside the building to try to find the intruders.

“We know nothing at this hour of how the attackers got in and out” of the heavily protected apartment, he said.

Pieces of burnt wood and twisted metal littered the sidewalk Friday in front of the building, which overlooks the glitzy Monaco harbor, crowded with hundreds of private yachts. The building is but a short walk from the royal palace. It is also home to branches of Republic National Bank of New York, the French bank Paribas and several other financial institutions.

The motive for the attack on Safra, who had Parkinson’s disease and led a discreet but opulent lifestyle, was not immediately known.

Forbes magazine this year listed him as one of the world’s top billionaires--No. 199. He was believed to control more than $2.5 billion and was an official resident of Monaco, a principality used as a tax haven by the very rich.

However, his bank had fallen on hard times in recent years, suffering heavy losses during the Latin American banking crisis in the 1980s and during the Russian economic meltdown that began in 1998.

Safra was a major shareholder in Republic Bank. His death came just three days after shareholders of Republic voted to approve the bank’s sale to London-based HSBC Holdings for $10 billion.

The sale, announced last May, was delayed for months after one of Republic’s customers was charged with defrauding Japanese investors out of $1 billion. The deal is now awaiting the go-ahead from regulators.

Safra had been building a financial empire for more than 30 years. He founded Republic in 1966.

The son of a wealthy Jewish banking family, Safra was born in Beirut in 1932. He left school at 16 to enter the banking business. Anti-Jewish riots in Beirut following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 compelled the Safra family to leave Lebanon for Brazil.

Today, Republic New York Corp. has $67.8 billion in assets and is the 16th-largest bank holding company in the United States.