A shooting incident was reported at the Moscow office of the Russian retail e-commerce leader “Wildberry”. Vladislav Bakalchuk, the founder of the company and the husband of Tatiana Bakalchuk, the richest woman in Russia, led a group of armed men and forced their way into the office. He entered the building and opened fire, killing at least two people and injuring seven others, because Vladislav opposed Wildberry’s merger with advertising operator Russ Group and the couple was preparing to divorce.
A shooting incident was reported at the Moscow office of the Russian retail e-commerce leader “Wildberry”. (Picture/reproduced from X)
As can be seen from the video on the social platform, a group of men tried to break into Wildberry’s office, and security guards tried to stop them. A scuffle broke out at the entrance, and there were even multiple gunshots. According to a report by the Russian independent news website Meduza, two people were confirmed dead and seven injured in the shooting, and nearly 30 people were arrested.
According to reports, the seven injured include mixed martial arts fighters Abubakar Mestoev, Umar Chichaev, and heavyweight boxing champion Rashid Kodzev. Among them, Chichaev is A member of the “Akhmat Fight Club” founded by the leader of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.
Wildberry also said in a statement that Vladislav tried to break into the company’s office in central Moscow with armed men. “Law enforcement agencies have taken necessary measures and the situation has stabilized.” However, Vladislav claimed on Telegram that his The purpose was to negotiate and she denied carrying weapons. “My colleagues and I came to the office, but as soon as we entered the door, we were attacked by security guards and unknown persons, triggering an armed conflict.” Tatiana refuted this and accused Vladislav. His men fired the first shot, “It is absurd for an armed group to claim to come to negotiate. No one agrees to such negotiations.”
According to “AFP”, Tatiana and Vladislav co-founded Wildberry in 2004. However, in July this year, the two separated and prepared to divorce due to differences in the company’s merger and acquisition case. It is understood that Vladislav owns 1% of the company’s shares, while Tatiana owns 99%. According to an estimate by Forbes in July, Tatiana’s net worth was US$7.4 billion, equivalent to approximately NT$ 230 billion yuan.
The Moscow Times pointed out that since Wildberry announced a merger with outdoor advertising operator Russ Group in June, the two companies will form a new digital trading platform called RWB. According to the merger plan, Russ Group’s Mirzoyan (Robert Mirzoyan will become CEO, while Tatiana will serve as general manager. Business news outlet The Bell reported that the merger may be part of Russia’s wartime reallocation of assets, a practice that benefits business people with ties to the Kremlin. In response to this shooting, the Russian Investigative Committee, which is responsible for investigating major crimes, stated that it has currently opened an investigation.
A shooting incident was reported at the Moscow office of the Russian retail e-commerce leader “Wildberry”. (Picture/reproduced from X)
