A convicted Russian cryptocurrency fraudster and his wife were reportedly forced to watch each other being tortured before being encased in concrete and buried in a desert, according to shocking reports.
Roman Novak, 38, and his wife, Anna, 37, were last seen on October 2 after allegedly being lured to the resort town of Hatta, about 80 miles from Dubai, by criminals posing as potential investors. Their dismembered bodies were discovered in a Dubai desert more than a month later.
Russian media reports claim that the couple were forced to watch each other suffer at the hands of their captors, who were allegedly attempting to extort their cryptocurrency fortune. Investigators say Roman and Anna eventually provided access codes to their crypto wallets, which were reportedly empty, leading to their brutal murders.
The victims’ bodies were reportedly placed in thick polyethylene bags and doused with chemicals, allegedly to accelerate decomposition and destroy DNA evidence. They were then buried in the desert near the Oman border and discovered weeks later after relatives reported them missing.
The couple are believed to have been targeted by a gang aware of Roman’s successful cryptocurrency app, Fintopio, which allegedly raised £380 million in investment. Roman faced accusations of defrauding investors who backed the venture.
Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for the Russian Investigative Committee, said investigators found that the killers had accomplices who helped organise the abduction, including renting cars and premises where the victims were held. After the murders, the perpetrators reportedly disposed of knives and the victims’ personal belongings across different emirates.
Three men have since been arrested in St. Petersburg and charged after returning from the UAE. They were identified as Russian citizens Konstantin Shakht, a former police officer, along with Yury Sharypov and Vladimir Dalekin. Sharypov and Dalekin have pleaded guilty, while Shakht denies involvement. All three remain in custody until December 28.
