The bodies of a crypto millionaire and his wife have allegedly been found in the desert in the United Arab Emirates. The couple was allegedly killed and then dismembered.
38-year-old Roman Novak, who is a Russian multi-millionaire who made his money from crypto, and his 37-year-old wife Anna, who was a TV reporter in their home country, were found murdered in the United Arab Emirates.
Currently, it is theorized that two fighters from the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine are behind the r, as well as a former murder squad detective.
The couple was last seen a month ago, driving out to meet investors at Dubai’s mountain resort, Hatta. There was then a ‘large ransom’ that was demanded, which was not paid, leading the couple to pay the ultimate price.
It is now believed that the couple was killed in their villa in Hatta about a month ago. Three suspects have since then been detained in St Petersburg, Stavropol, and Krasnodar in Russia after they returned to the country after their visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Allegedly, the ‘investors’ they were supposed to meet ended up kidnapping the couple and demanding the crypto wallet’s password. Roman obliged but according to reports, his wallet was empty.
The men who have so far been accused of the crime are all Russian citizens. The three men named are 53-year-old Konstantin Shakht, who is an ex-homicide investigator who is now a drug smuggler, 46-year-old Yury Sharypov, and 45-year-old Vladimir Dalekin. The latter two have both served in the war against Ukraine.
Roman and Anna allegedly failed to pay the ransom and hence were ‘killed and then dismembered.’ All three of the suspects will be remanded in custody until later the year. However, it is reported that 5 other Russians, all under 25, are also linked to the case.
Roman and Anna were living in Dubai and often showed off their lavish lifestyle on social media. They showcased their supercars and private jets.
The couple leaves behind their underage children, who are now in the care of their grandparents.
Svetlana Petrenko from the Russian Investigative Committee, said, “The investigation has established that the killers had accomplices who helped organise the abduction. They rented cars and premises where the victims were held by force.”
She went on to say, “After the murder, the perpetrators disposed of the knives and the victims’ personal belongings, leaving them in different Emirates.”
The committee also confirmed the claim that the couple was meant to meet investors in Hatta. Their personal driver took them to a car park by a lake where they entered another car and were never heard from again.
Roman had apparently texted some contacts at this time to ask for money. He texted saying he was ‘stuck in the mountains on the Oman border’ and needed $200,000.”
Their phones were tracked, which showed the couple traveled from Hatta to Oman and then to Cape Town in South Africa. The signals disappeared in early October.
Investigation into the murder revealed that the killers planned for the phones to be left on so authorities could be misdirected. Russian and UAE law enforcement worked together to solve the murder.
Fontaka went on, “Emirati police found traces of Anna Novak’s blood at the villa, blood in the rented car, a cache of knives near the crime scene, and one of the organisers’ T-shirts left behind in haste.”
Relatives close to the couple raised alarm about the couple being missing. Roman was under investigation at the time for the alleged theft of over £380 million from crypto investors. He claimed this money had been for business development.
A report stated that his victims had been business men from China and Middle Eastern countries.’
Komsomolskaya Pravda [KP] newspaper wrote, “In reality, Novak was simply a talented manipulator who managed to convince people to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars.”
It has been claimed that he operated a crypto network on an app made by Ukrainian programmers. Russian law enforcement was trying to look for crypto exchanges within Moscow to ascertain traces of the investment money.
In his past, Roman had served a prison sentence for embezzlement.
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