The estranged husband of Russia’s richest woman has been arrested and charged with murder after two people were killed in a gun battle at the headquarters of his wife’s company in central Moscow.
Vladislav Bakalchuk and a group of men arrived at the offices of e-commerce giant Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, on Wednesday, claiming peaceful negotiations that eventually turned violent.
Tatyana Bakalchuk, his estranged wife and the company’s billionaire CEO, said he entered the building with armed men and opened fire, calling it a failed attempt to take over the company by force.
Two security guards were killed in the massacre while seven others were injured when security personnel engaged the men in a dramatic confrontation.
Vladislav is now in “48 hours’ custody” and is accused of “murder”, “attempted murder”, “assault on a police officer” and “taking the law into one’s own hands”, his lawyers said in a message on his Telegram account.
The incident came just weeks after Wildberries completed a controversial merger deal that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved, but which Vladislav called a “huge mistake.”
Tatyana Bakalchuk founded Wildberries in 2004 and her husband Vladislav joined the company shortly after
People hid in an elevator entrance as gunmen stormed Wildberries headquarters in Moscow
Tatjana posted an emotional video message on Wednesday accusing her husband of organizing the attack.
“Vladislav, what are you doing?” she sobbed. “How can you look into the eyes of your parents and our children? How could you make the situation so absurd?”
The chaotic shooting spree a few blocks from the Kremlin was reminiscent of the 1990s in Russia, when corporate disputes were sometimes resolved through violence and criminal means.
Mr Bakalchuk’s lawyers called the murder charge “absurd” in a social media post.
He denied Wednesday that he and his men were armed, saying he had come to the office to take part in negotiations and that the shots were fired “from inside the building.”
Wildberries disputed his story, saying his men were the “first to open fire” and that as a former employee he had no right to enter the building.
The online retailer declared a day of mourning on Thursday. Tatyana said in a statement on Telegram that the company is “one big family.”
‘Yesterday’s lawlessness has led to the loss of lives of our office security personnel.
‘This is a sorrow that is hard to comprehend, and families left without fathers, brothers and sons. We will certainly provide them with the necessary support.
‘I have said before that Wildberries, and now RVB, is one big family. That is why today is a day of mourning in our company.
Tatjana released a tear-jerking video message on Wednesday accusing her husband of organizing the attack
She added about the attack: “We are confident that those responsible will be punished in accordance with the law. They will also have to answer to God’s judgment.”
Ms Bakalchuk founded Wildberries in 2004, after she started selling clothes from her Moscow apartment during maternity leave.
Shortly thereafter, her husband joined the company, but until the end of 2019, Mrs. Bakalchuk was the sole owner of the company.
She then transferred one percent to her husband, allegedly to circumvent Russian law that prohibits sole proprietorships from establishing wholly owned subsidiaries.
The duo entered the Forbes ranking of the richest families in Russia in 2021, reaching the top, thanks to their success with Wildberries.
In June 2024, the company announced a new partnership with Russ Group, Russia’s largest outdoor advertising agency.
Mr. Bakalchuk opposed the deal. A month later, Mrs. Bakalchuk — whose net worth is estimated at $8.1 billion — announced they were divorcing.
Tatyana Bakalchuk, CEO of Wildberries and Russia’s richest woman, with a fortune of $8.1 billion
A Russian police officer blocks the entrance to the Wildberries office building on Wednesday
Under Russian law, divorcing couples are obliged to divide the property they acquired during their marriage.
Although she is Russia’s richest woman, her fortune took a hit following the merger of her company with Russian outdoor advertising agency Russ, Forbes reported.
The Kremlin had approved the deal, but Vladislav was strongly opposed, saying his “family business” had fallen into the hands of crooks and that the deal would backfire.
In July, after a personal meeting with Vladislav, the powerful leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, condemned the deal as a “blatant and shameless” corporate robbery and vowed to put an end to it.
The e-commerce giant, Russia’s largest online retailer, reportedly has around 50,000 employees and processed as many as 750,000 orders per day in 2020.