Two folks have been killed in a capturing on the Moscow workplace of Russian retailer Wildberries on Wednesday, an incident the CEO blamed on a botched takeover try by her estranged husband.
Wildberries mentioned armed males accompanying Vladislav Bakalchuk, the husband of CEO Tatyana Bakalchuk, illegally entered the corporate’s workplace constructing in central Moscow and opened fireplace.
Movies on social media confirmed a scuffle breaking out on the entrance to the workplace, whereas gunshots rang out within the background. A person might be seen wielding a handgun in a single video.
The incident got here weeks after Wildberries, Russia’s largest on-line retailer, finalized a merger deal that Vladislav criticized and that strongman Chechen chief Ramzan Kadyrov vowed to cease.
Wildberries introduced a plan to merge with billboard and promoting operator Russ Outside in June, a month earlier than Tatyana filed for divorce from her husband Vladislav. Tatyana mentioned this is able to spur the corporate to future development because the e-commerce large tries to rival rivals like Amazon.
“Today a group of people led by Vladislav Bakalchuk, Sergei Anufriev and Vladimir Bakin attempted to seize Wildberries’ offices in Moscow,” mentioned CEO Tatyana Bakalchuk, who can also be Russia’s richest lady.
“To my deep regret, as a result of the armed attack on Wildberries, a security guard at our office was killed,” she mentioned. A second guard later died of his wounds, Russian state media reported.
Seven folks have been injured in whole, together with two regulation enforcement officers, Russia’s Investigative Committee mentioned.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes main crimes, mentioned it had opened a prison case.
One eyewitness, Nadezhda, advised AFP she heard screams and capturing contained in the constructing, a enterprise heart that hosts different workplaces for different companies.
“The wounded were moved out of the building and taken away by ambulance. Some of them were being carried,” she mentioned.
Vladislav denied that he and his males have been armed, saying on social media he got here to the workplace to participate in negotiations and that the capturing got here from “inside the building”.
“Some might think that we came with threats, but that is a lie! We came to discuss business matters. In response, we were shot at,” Vladislav wrote on Telegram.
Wildberries disputed his account, saying his males have been the “first to open fire” and that he had no proper to enter the constructing as a former worker.
It additionally mentioned there had been unlawful makes an attempt to enter two of its addresses directly, with out offering element.
‘Brazen’ raid
Tatyana Bakalchuk referred to as her husband’s claims “absurd”.
“No one agreed to any negotiations,” she mentioned on Telegram.
AFP noticed a number of police automobiles close to the workplace in central Moscow. Ten folks have been detained in reference to the incident, Russia’s state RIA information company mentioned.
Bakalchuk based Wildberries collectively together with her then IT technician husband in 2004, however in July she introduced the 2 had separated and have been getting a divorce.
Vladislav owns one p.c of the corporate, whereas his spouse Tatyana owns the opposite 99 p.c.
The corporate had final month finalized a merger with Russian out of doors promoting large Russ, a deal that has the Kremlin’s blessing however that her husband Vladislav referred to as a “huge mistake”.
In July, the chief of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, denounced the deal as a “blatant and brazen” company raid and vowed to place a cease to it, after assembly with Vladislav in individual.
Forbes stories that the merger led Wildberries to switch an enormous chunk of its helpful property to Russ, inflicting Tatyana’s web value to plunge by $3.4 billion.
Vladislav owns round 0.65% of Wildberries, whereas Tatyana holds round 99%. The estranged husband mentioned he and his spouse didn’t signal a prenup, including that he’s entitled to half her property. This probably added to his opposition to the cope with Russ.
