Police in Moscow searched the offices of Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, on Thursday, Russian news broadcaster RBC reported.
The searches come amid an ongoing criminal investigation into the company over its alleged failure to follow fire safety regulations at its warehouse in the St. Petersburg suburb of Shushary, which is believed to have led to a catastrophic fire on Saturday.
Police checked all fire safety systems and documentation at the company’s Moscow offices, RBC reported. Documents concerning the warehouse fire on Saturday were seized by police investigators, Telegram group SHOT said.
Wildberries’ press office confirmed that a police search was ongoing at the company headquarters.
One person was injured in Saturday’s fire at the company’s St. Petersburg warehouse, according to Telegram news channel 112, and a criminal investigation has been opened.
The fire, which is believed to have started due to a wiring malfunction, spread quickly as the warehouse fire alarm system had reportedly been turned off after multiple false alarms.
The authorities are currently investigating whether the warehouse was operating illegally, as it doesn’t appear to have been listed on the Federal Register and despite having been issued with a letter of compliance in 2022, no accompanying inspection was reportedly ever carried out.
