Husband of Russia’s Richest Woman Arrested And Charged With Several Crimes Including Murder After Deadly Raid at Wildberries Offices
Vladislav Bakalchuk, the estranged husband of billionaire Tatyana Bakalchuk, was arrested on Thursday and charged with multiple crimes, including murder, following a deadly armed raid at the Wildberries headquarters in central Moscow. The incident occurred just a day earlier, leaving two people, including a security guard, dead.
Tatyana Bakalchuk, CEO of Wildberries and Russia’s richest woman, released an emotional statement accusing Vladislav, with whom she is in the process of divorcing, of leading the armed assault on the company’s offices. Vladislav's lawyers stated he had been "detained for 48 hours" and was charged with murder, attempted murder, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and vigilantism.
The violent incident comes weeks after Vladislav publicly criticized a merger deal involving Wildberries, a deal which Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov also vowed to oppose. Vladislav’s legal team claims he went to the offices for a "pre-arranged meeting to resolve a corporate dispute" and that office staff fired first, according to Reuters. However, Tatyana dismissed these claims as "absurd," asserting that no negotiations had been scheduled.
Wildberries, founded by Tatyana in 2004, has grown into Russia’s largest online retailer. She is the company’s majority owner, while Vladislav holds a one-percent stake. In 2021, Tatyana was ranked as the 40th richest woman in the world by Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index and became the first self-made female billionaire from Russia.
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