Husband of Russia's richest woman charged with murder after shootout

The estranged husband of Russia's richest woman has been arrested and charged with murder after two people were killed in a shootout at his wife's company headquarters in central Moscow.

Vladislav Bakalchuk and a group of men turned up at the offices of e-commerce giant Wildberries - Russia's largest online retailer - on Wednesday for what he said were peaceful negotiations that turned violent.

Tatyana Bakalchuk, his estranged wife and the company's billionaire CEO, said he broke into the building with armed men and opened fire, in what she called a botched attempt to seize the company by force.

Two security guards were killed in the bloodbath shootout, while seven others were injured as security staff faced off with the men in a dramatic showdown.

Vladislav has now been 'detained for 48 hours' and charged with 'murder', 'attempted murder', 'assault of a law enforcement officer' and 'vigilantism', his lawyers said in a message on his Telegram account.

The incident came weeks after Wildberries finalised a controversial merger deal that Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally approved but that Vladislav denounced as a 'huge mistake'.

Tatyana released a tearful video message on Wednesday accusing her husband of organising the attack.

'Vladislav, what are you doing?' she sobbed. 'How will you look into the eyes of your parents and our children? How could you bring the situation to such absurdity?' 

The chaotic shootout just a few streets from the Kremlin evoked memories of the 1990s in Russia, where corporate disputes were sometimes settled through violent, criminal means.

Mr Bakalchuk's lawyers called the murder charge 'absurd' in a post on social media.

He denied that he and his men were armed on Wednesday, saying 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 as a former employee he had no right to enter the building.

The online retailer declared a day of mourning on Thursday, with Tatyana saying in a statement on Telegram that the firm was 'a big family'.

'Yesterday's lawlessness resulted in the loss of the lives of our office security staff. 

'This is a grief that is difficult to comprehend, and families that have been left without fathers, brothers and sons. We will definitely provide them with the necessary support.

'I have said more than once that Wildberries, and now RVB, is a big family, so today is a day of mourning in our company.

She added of the attack: 'We are confident that the culprits will be punished in accordance with the law. They will also have to answer before God's judgment.'

Mrs Bakalchuk founded Wildberries in 2004 after she began selling clothes from her Moscow apartment while on maternity leave. 

Her husband joined the company shortly afterwards, but until the end of 2019, Mrs Bakalchuk was the sole owner of the company.

At that point she transferred one per cent to her husband - ostensibly to navigate Russia's law forbidding sole owners from creating 100 per cent subsidiaries.

The pair both entered and shot to the top of the Forbes richest families rankings for Russia in 2021 following their success with Wildberries.

In June 2024, the company announced a new venture with Russ Group, Russia's biggest outdoor advertiser.

Mr Bakalchuk opposed the deal. One month later, Mrs Bakalchuk - worth an estimated $8.1billion - announced they would divorce.

Under Russian law, divorcing couples are obliged to split assets gained together while married.

Although she is Russia's richest woman, her fortune took a hit from her company's merger deal with Russian outdoor advertising firm Russ, the outlet Forbes reported.

The Kremlin had given its blessing to the deal but Vladislav was firmly opposed, saying his 'family business' had fallen into the hand of crooks and that the deal would backfire.

In July, after meeting with Vladislav in person, the powerful 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.

The e-commerce giant, which is Russia's largest online retailer, is reported to have some 50,000 staff and in 2020 was processing as many as 750,000 orders every day.