Two people were killed in a shooting at the Moscow office of Russian retailer Wildberries on Wednesday, an incident the CEO blamed on a botched takeover attempt by her estranged husband.
Wildberries said that armed men 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 scuffle unfolding at the entrance to the office, while gunshots rang out in the background. A man could be seen wielding a gun in a video.
The incident came weeks after Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, finalized a merger deal that Vladislav criticized and strongman Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov vowed to stop.
“Today a group of people led by Vladislav Bakalchuk, Sergei Anufriev and Vladimir Bakin tried to capture the offices of Wildberries in Moscow,” said CEO Tatiana Bakalchuk, who is also Russia’s richest woman.
“To my deep regret, as a result of the armed attack on Wildberries, a security guard in our office was killed,” he said. A second guard later died of his injuries, Russian state media said.
Seven people were injured in total, including two law enforcement officers, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, said it had opened a criminal case.
An eyewitness, Nadezhda, told AFP she heard screams and gunshots in the building, a shopping center that houses offices for other businesses.
“The injured were moved out of the building and taken away by ambulance. Some of them were taken away,” he said.
– Acquisition “Brazen” –
Vladislav denied that he and his men were armed, saying on social media that he came to the office to participate in negotiations and that the shooting came “from inside the building.”
Wildberries disputed his account, saying his men were the “first to open fire” and that he had no right to enter the building as a former employee.
He also said there had been illegal attempts to enter two of his addresses at once, without providing details.
Tatiana Bakalchuk called her husband’s claims “absurd.”
“No one has agreed to any negotiations,” he told Telegram.
AFP saw several police vehicles near the office in central Moscow. Ten people have been arrested in connection with the incident, Russian state news agency RIA said.
Bakalchuk co-founded Wildberries with her IT technician husband in 2004, but in July announced that the two had separated and were getting a divorce.
Vladislav owns one percent of the company, while his wife Tatiana owns the other 99 percent.
The company last month finalized a merger with Russian outdoor advertising giant Russ, a deal that has the Kremlin’s blessing, but which her husband Vladislav called a “huge mistake.”
In July, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, denounced the deal as a “flamboyant and brazen” corporate raid and vowed to put a stop to it, after meeting with Vladislav in person.
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