A Russian cryptocurrency millionaire and his wife met a gruesome end after being kidnapped and dismembered by individuals posing as potential investors in the United Arab Emirates.
The Fatal Meeting in Hatta
Roman Novak, 38, and his wife Anna were last seen alive approximately one month ago when they drove to meet what they believed were investors in Dubai's mountain resort area of Hatta. According to reports from law enforcement, the flamboyant Dubai-based couple were specifically targeted for cryptocurrency extortion.
Just before their disappearance, Novak had acquired a highly collectible elite British AC Cobra car, showcasing their wealthy lifestyle. The couple's journey to their fatal meeting involved being driven by their personal driver to a car park near a lake, where they transferred to another vehicle for the remainder of their trip.
Desperate Messages and Disappearance
At a critical moment during the ordeal, Novak managed to send messages to contacts in his phone indicating he was 'stuck in the mountains on the Oman border' and urgently needed £152,000. This desperate plea for help would be among his final communications.
Svetlana Petrenko of the Russian Investigative Committee confirmed that 'subsequently, contact with the young couple was lost.' Their phones were tracked for two days in Hatta before signals appeared in Oman and Cape Town, eventually vanishing in early October. Investigators now believe the killers intentionally activated the phones in different locations to mislead authorities.
Gruesome Discovery and Suspects
The alarm was first raised by the couple's relatives in Russia before the tragic discovery was made. The severed remains of Novak and his wife were found buried in a desert area within the UAE.
Three Russian suspects have been detained in connection with the brutal crime. The alleged perpetrators include Konstantin Shakht, 53, a former homicide investigator who had turned to drugs smuggling; Yury Sharypov, 46; and Vladimir Dalekin, 45. Both Sharypov and Dalekin had previously fought for Russia in the Ukraine war before being discharged.
According to the Fontanka news outlet, the kidnappers demanded the password to Novak's crypto wallet after abducting the couple. 'Novak didn't resist - but there was no cryptocurrency left. The wallet was empty,' the report stated. When the perpetrators failed to obtain cryptocurrency or raise ransom money from other sources, they killed and dismembered the couple.
Emirati police discovered substantial evidence including traces of Anna Novak's blood at a villa, blood in a rented car, a collection of knives near the crime scene, and a T-shirt left behind by one of the organizers.
Background and Investigation
The case reveals complex background details about Novak himself. At the time of his disappearance, he was under investigation for allegedly stealing more than £38 million from crypto investors under the guise of business development. Among his alleged victims were businessmen from China and Middle Eastern countries.
Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda described Novak as having 'a knack for presenting himself as someone operating on the same level as Pavel Durov and Arab sheikhs,' referring to the billionaire owner of Telegram. The publication noted that 'in reality, Novak was simply a talented manipulator who managed to convince people to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars.'
Novak had previously served a prison sentence for embezzlement and operated a 'fast and reliable crypto network' with an app developed by Ukrainian programmers. Russian law enforcement had recently been conducting inspections of crypto exchanges in Moscow City, searching for traces of his investments.
The three main suspects have been remanded in custody until December 28, while five other Russians, all under 25 years old, are believed to be connected to the case. The couple's orphaned children have been collected by Anna's parents following their disappearance.
