Trucks outside a Wildberries warehouse in Koledino, in Russia’s Moscow region, 29 July 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE / MAXIM SHIPENKOV
Seven people have been charged following a shootout on Wednesday at the Moscow headquarters of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, state-affiliated newspaper Izvestia reported on Thursday.
Those arrested include Vladislav Bakalchuk, the estranged husband of Wildberries founder Tatyana Bakalchuk, Izvestia said.
A statement by Vladislav Bakalchuk’s attorneys published by The Bell on Thursday says that Bakalchuk was charged on Thursday morning and will spend 48 hours in police custody. The attorneys called the charges “absurd”, as Bakalchuk and his “colleagues” were on their way to a “pre-arranged meeting to resolve a corporate conflict”.
Two people were killed and seven were injured in the central Moscow shootout, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Wednesday, adding that a criminal case for murder, the attempted murder of two or more people, illegal arms possession, and the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer had been opened.
According to TASS, “a group of 20–30 men” began breaking windows in the lobby of the business centre where the Wildberries head office is located, and “shots were fired in response”. The group of men reportedly included Vladislav Bakalchuk, who said he had come to the office to discuss business issues but was attacked before entering the business centre.
Vladislav Bakalchuk
“Yesterday’s lawlessness resulted in the lives of our office security staff being cut short,” Tatyana Bakalchuk wrote on her Telegram channel on Thursday, vowing to provide support to the victims’ families. “We are confident that the perpetrators will be punished in accordance with the law,” she added.
Tatyana Bakalchuk announced that she had filed for divorce in July, after which Vladislav Bakalchuk, who currently owns 1% of Wildberries, told RIA Novosti that as the couple had never signed a prenuptial agreement, he was legally entitled to half of the company.
Russia’s richest woman with an estimated net worth of €3.7 billion, Tatyana Bakalchuk posted an emotional video message to Telegram on Wednesday evening following the shootout in which she directly addressed her husband: “Armed men stormed into our office, they started shooting, it was mayhem. Vladislav, what are you doing? How will you look your parents and children in the eye?”
Vladislav Bakalchuk previously called a planned merger between Wildberries and the Russ Group, Russia’s largest advertising operator, “a hostile takeover” and publicly sought the help of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to thwart the deal in July. One month previously, Forbes Russia reported that the merger had received Kremlin approval.
