Husband of Russia’s richest woman arrested for murder after office shooting

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladislav Bakalchuk, the ex-husband of Russia’s richest woman, was arrested and charged with murder on Thursday, his lawyers said, after a deadly shooting at the Moscow office of Russia’s largest online retailer.

Two people were killed Wednesday in a shootout just blocks from the Kremlin at the Wildberries offices, as a dispute over the company’s future turned violent. Seven others were injured, including police officers.

Vladislav and his wife Tatyana Bakalchuk, who filed for divorce in July, have been embroiled in a bitter and public feud since Wildberries announced plans to merge with outdoor advertising company Russ Group in June.

Tatyana founded Wildberries, Russia’s answer to Amazon, in 2004, growing it from a simple online clothing retailer to a major marketplace for all kinds of products.

Both sides have accused each other of responsibility for Wednesday’s shooting.

Vladislav said he had arrived for a pre-arranged meeting and that it was the office employees who fired the first shots. Tatiana said Vladislav and his colleagues had tried to take over the office and that no meeting was scheduled.

Vladislav’s lawyers said he was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, which they called a “gross and unprecedented violation” of their client’s rights.

The business dispute centers on the merger that created RVB, a new company with Robert Mirzoyan as CEO, which reduced Tatyana’s overall stake to about 65% in RVB from 99% in Wildberries.

Vladislav had then said that his wife was being “manipulated”. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who had supported Vladislav, had called the merger “an asset theft”.

Tatiana has denied both accusations. The Kremlin has said the merger has the support of President Vladimir Putin, but that he will not interfere in its progress.

In a tearful video message posted on Telegram early Thursday, Tatiana said: “Vladislav, what are you doing? How are you going to look your parents and our children in the eye? How could you bring the situation to such an absurdity?”

The case dates back to the 1990s, when corporate infighting was rife as huge swathes of property were redistributed after the fall of the Soviet Union.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Gleb Stolyarov, editing by Mark Trevelyan)