The husband of Tatyana Bakalchuk, the boss of Wildberries and the richest woman in Russia, was arrested and charged on Thursday, September 19, with ” murder “, according to his lawyers, after a deadly shooting at the headquarters of this e-commerce giant, in the midst of a conflict within the couple.
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In a statement published on Telegram, the lawyers of Vladislav Bakalchouk, husband of Wildberries boss Tatyana Bakalchouk, indicated on Thursday, September 19, that he is accused of ” murder “, “ attempted murder “, And “ attack on life ” of a member of the security forces. He is also targeted by an article of the Russian Criminal Code which represses attempts at personal justice. All these accusations are punishable by very heavy prison sentences. According to his lawyers, he is in custody for 48 hours, before a possible hearing on his placement in pretrial detention.
Tatyana Bakalchuk and Vladislav Bakalchuk, who have been in the process of divorcing since the end of July, are at loggerheads over the future of the company. She owns 99% of the e-commerce giant and her husband 1%. The latter, according to the Russian press, has demanded control of 50% of the shares.
Wildberries, founded in 2004 based on the Amazon model, is present in several countries of the former Soviet Union and claims more than 10 million daily orders. At 48, Tatyana Bakalchouk has a fortune estimated by Forbes at $7.9 billion (7.08 billion euros).
The conflict with her husband took a dramatic turn on Wednesday, September 18, when a shootout broke out at the company’s headquarters, a few hundred meters from the Kremlin. The result: two dead and seven injured, including police officers. Tatyana Bakalchuk accused her husband of having burst into the building with armed individuals who opened fire, which his lawyers again denied the following day.
The version of events according to Vladislav Bakalchuk’s lawyers
According to them, Vladislav Bakalchuk was targeted ” by an attack ” in front “ about ten witnesses ” and surveillance cameras would show that ” members of the other side of the conflict ” opened fire first. On Wednesday evening, September 18, Tatyana Bakalchouk posted a video on Telegram, showing her crying. Young people are dead. Vladislav, what are you doing? How will you be able to look your parents and children in the eye? ” she said.
Her husband’s lawyers say he was scheduled to attend talks at Wildberries headquarters to try to resolve the dispute and that he went there with representatives and bodyguards. They say he had alerted law enforcement about the meeting, a claim the CEO denied Wednesday, saying no talks were planned.
Vladislav Bakalchuk’s lawyers denounced on Thursday, September 19, the “ crocodile tears and false accusations » by Tatyana Bakalchouk, accusing her of having organized a « provocation » with « armed criminals ” who allegedly triggered the shooting. They also say that police officers present at the scene showed themselves ” aggressive ” when they arrived. “ We do not understand why the police interfered in an economic activity and business relations. “, they say.
Also readDeadly shooting at headquarters of Russian online retail giant Wildberries