Two dead in botched armed raid on Russian retailer’s office

At least three people were wounded during a botched raid on the Moscow office of Russian retailer Wildberries – Copyright AFP/File ROBERTO SCHMIDT

Two people were killed in a shooting at the Moscow office of Russian retailer Wildberries on Wednesday, Russian media reported, an incident the CEO blamed on a botched takeover attempt by her estranged husband.

Wildberries said 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 breaking out at the entrance to the office, while gunshots rang out in the background. A man could be seen wielding a gun in the video.

The incident came weeks after Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, finalised a merger deal that Vladislav had denounced and that strongman Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov vowed to stop at all costs.

“Today a group of people led by Vladislav Bakalchuk, Sergei Anufriev and Vladimir Bakin attempted to seize Wildberries offices in Moscow,” said CEO Tatyana Bakalchuk, who is 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 injuries, Russian state media reported.

Russia’s Investigative Committee which probes major crimes is on the scene of the incident, the state TASS news agency said.

– ‘Brazen’ takeover –

Vladislav denied that he and his men were armed, saying on social media he came to the office to take part 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.

It also said there had been illegal attempts to enter two of its addresses at once, without providing detail.

AFP saw several police vehicles near the office in central Moscow. Ten people have been detained in connection with the incident, Russia’s state RIA news agency said.

Bakalchuk founded Wildberries together with her then IT technician husband in 2004, but in July she announced the two had separated and were getting a divorce.

Vladislav owns one percent of the company, while his wife Tatyana owns the other 99 percent.

The company had last month finalised a merger with Russian outdoor advertising giant Russ, a deal that has the Kremlin’s blessing but that her husband Vladislav called a “huge mistake”.

In July, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, denounced the deal as a “blatant and brazen” corporate raid and vowed to put a stop to it, after meeting with Vladislav in person.