In a shocking case of financial crime turning fatal, a convicted cryptocurrency fraudster and his wife were tortured to death in front of each other after kidnappers failed to seize their vast digital fortune, Russian investigators have revealed.
A Deadly Deception in the Desert
Roman Novak and his wife Anna vanished on October 2 after being lured to the Hatta resort area, approximately 80 miles from Dubai. The couple believed they were meeting potential investors, but the rendezvous was a trap set by criminals.
Their mobile phones last transmitted signals near the barren Hajar mountains on the Oman border. This location later became the focus of a massive police search, which uncovered the couple's remains scattered across a 500-by-500-metre stretch of sand.
The Brutal Hunt for Crypto Millions
Fresh details from Russian media paint a horrifying picture of the couple's final hours. After their abduction, Roman and Anna Novak were tortured in front of each other as their captors tried to force them to give up access codes to their cryptocurrency wallets.
Investigators state that when the codes were finally produced, the wallets were empty. The kidnappers' attempt to steal a reported £380 million had failed. Enraged, the killers then murdered the couple.
In a gruesome effort to cover their tracks, the perpetrators packed the bodies into heavy polyethylene bags and used industrial-strength solvents to speed decomposition and destroy DNA evidence.
International Investigation and Arrests
The investigation was launched after relatives alerted Dubai police that the couple were missing and feared kidnapped. The case quickly spanned borders, linking the crime scene in the United Arab Emirates to suspects in Russia.
Three Russian citizens have been arrested in St Petersburg after returning from the UAE. They were named as former police officer Konstantin Shakht, Yury Sharypov, and Vladimir Dalekin. Investigators suspect their direct involvement in the kidnapping and killings.
Svetlana Petrenko of the Russian Investigative Committee stated: 'The investigation has established that the killers had accomplices who helped organise the abduction. They rented cars and premises where the two victims were held by force.'
Sharypov and Dalekin have pleaded guilty, while Shakht denies the charges. All three are remanded in custody until December 28 as the investigation continues.
The motive is believed to be purely financial, directly linked to Novak's crypto operations. Before his disappearance, Novak was under separate investigation for the alleged theft of £38 million from crypto investors.
Roman Novak had a controversial past. In 2020, he was sentenced to six years in a Russian prison for large-scale fraud. After being granted parole, he moved to the UAE and launched a crypto application called Fintopio. The platform, which claimed to offer fast cryptocurrency transfers and partnerships with top tech firms, reportedly attracted £380 million in investment, primarily from China and the Middle East, before fraud accusations emerged.
Officials in Russia have indicated that more arrests could follow as they work to identify the full network behind one of the country's most alarming overseas murder cases in recent years.
