OREANDA-NEWS  Vladislav Bakalchuk, the ex-husband of Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim, accused her of paying off the debts of the Russ advertising group at the expense of the income of the Russian marketplace. He wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

Bakalchuk, in particular, that on the day of the completion of the merger of Wildberries with Russ (October 1, 2024), the marketplace headed by Kim paid the "billion-dollar" debts of the advertising group to VTB Bank and the Federal Tax Service (FTS). "Yes, you heard right — all debts," said Kim's ex—husband.

According to him, as a result of the above operation, all the debts of the co—owners of Russia's largest outdoor advertising operator, the brothers Levan and Robert Mirzoyan, were removed "as if by magic." He stated that all their debts were secured by a 100% share of Russ. "These shares were pledged in the amount of more than 20 billion rubles to VTB," Bakalchuk said.

After payment of Russ' debt by Wildberries, the encumbrance was "lifted" from the share of the owners of Stinn LLC (one of the main legal entities of Russ Group), he added. "This is no longer just a financial scam — it is a direct blow to everyone associated with Wildberries," concluded Kim's ex—husband. The Russ press service, in turn, stated that the pledge was a temporary security measure for the period of the company's growth and the acquisition of competitors. At the same time, the organization did not specify whether the debt to the bank was eventually repaid.

The merger of Wildberries and Russ was completed in early October. The founder of the marketplace claimed that her company needed restructuring and changes back in November 2023. Then, according to Kim, the decision was made to merge with Russ. Bakalchuk has repeatedly opposed the deal, accusing the marketplace management of illegally removing him from the business shortly before the merger was completed. In turn, Kim accused her ex-husband and his team of freezing the construction of logistics facilities and allegedly "stealing" 37 billion rubles from her company. Against this background, she stated that the decision to merge the marketplace with the Mirzoyan brothers advertising group was the right one.