Two people were killed in a shooting at the Moscow offices of Russian retailer Wildberries on Wednesday, Russian media reported. The CEO blamed the incident on a failed takeover attempt by her ex-husband.
Wildberries reported that gunmen accompanying Vladislav Bakalchuk, the husband of CEO Tatyana Bakalchuk, illegally entered the company’s office building in central Moscow and opened fire.
Videos on social media showed a brawl breaking out at the office entrance, with gunshots ringing out in the background. A man was seen holding a gun in the video.
The incident came weeks after Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, completed a merger deal that Vladislav strongly opposed and that strong Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov wanted to stop at all costs.
“Today, a group led by Vladislav Bakalchuk, Sergei Anufriev and Vladimir Bakin attempted to seize the office of Wildberries in Moscow,” said CEO Tatyana Bakalchuk, Russia’s richest woman.
“To my deep regret, as a result of the armed attack on Wildberries, a security guard at our office was killed,” she said. A second guard later died of his wounds, Russian state media reported.
Russia’s Investigative Committee for Serious Crimes is at the scene, state news agency TASS reported.
– ‘Brutal’ takeover –
Vladislav denied that he and his men were armed. On social media, he said he had come to the office to take part in negotiations and that the shooting had taken place “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.
It was also said that illegal attempts had been made to enter two of her addresses at the same time, without details being given.
AFP saw several police vehicles near the office in central Moscow. Ten people have been detained in connection with the incident, Russian state news agency RIA reported.
Bakalchuk founded Wildberries in 2004 with her then-husband, an IT technician, but announced in July that they had separated and were getting divorced.
Vladislav owns one percent of the company, while his wife Tatyana owns the remaining 99 percent.
The company completed a merger with Russian outdoor advertising giant Russ last month, a deal that has the Kremlin’s approval but which her husband Vladislav called a “huge mistake.”
In July, the 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 after meeting Vladislav in person.
farmer/farmer’s wife