A Russian couple, previously convicted for a massive cryptocurrency fraud, met a horrific end in the United Arab Emirates after being kidnapped and tortured by assailants trying to steal a fortune worth £380 million.
The Disappearance and Grisly Discovery
Roman Novak and his wife, Anna, vanished on October 2 after traveling to the resort town of Hatta, roughly 80 miles from Dubai. They had been tricked by men posing as potential investors. Their phones were last traced to a remote part of the Hajar mountains near the Oman border.
Authorities launched a major search, eventually digging up a vast 500-by-500-meter section of desert. More than a month after they disappeared, the couple's remains were recovered.
A Brutal End for an Empty Fortune
Investigations revealed the couple suffered extreme torture. Their kidnappers were desperate to force them to reveal access codes to cryptocurrency wallets. In a cruel twist, those accounts were reportedly empty, meaning the torture was for nothing.
After the murders, the perpetrators took gruesome steps to hide the evidence. They sealed the bodies in thick polyethylene bags, doused them with powerful chemical solvents to speed up decomposition and destroy DNA, and dumped them in the desert.
Investigation Points to Organized Crime
The case was opened after relatives in Russia reported the couple missing and suspected kidnapping to Dubai authorities. Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for the Russian Investigative Committee, stated the killers had accomplices who helped organize the abduction by renting cars and premises.
She added that after the murder, the perpetrators disposed of the knives and the victims' belongings, scattering them across different emirates.
Roman Novak had a criminal past. In 2020, he was sentenced to six years in a Russian prison for large-scale fraud. After being paroled, he moved to the UAE and launched a crypto application called Fintopio. The app allegedly raised about £380 million from investors before Novak was accused of defrauding them.
Three Russian citizens have been arrested in St. Petersburg following their return from the UAE. They are:
- Konstantin Shakht, a former police officer
- Yury Sharypov
- Vladimir Dalekin
Sharypov and Dalekin have pleaded guilty, while Shakht denies any involvement. All three are remanded in custody until at least December 28 as the investigation continues.
