38-year-old Roman and Anna Novak bragged on social media about their luxurious existence with fast cars, beautiful houses and private jets. Nothing was too crazy. And all the wealth was acquired from trading crypto coins with his company Fintopio.
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He is said to have raised hundreds of millions from investors in China, Russia and the Middle East. Roman competed with a million active users on its crypto platform.
He probably put the proceeds in his own pocket. Novak had recently purchased a very expensive British sports car.
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But since October 2, the glamor couple from St. Petersburg, Russia, suddenly seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Friends knew they were going to meet ‘investors’ in their crypto company somewhere in the mountains. They were taken there by a private driver. The two got into another car.
Anna Novak leaves behind two children. Her parents picked up her offspring from the UAE.
Shortly after arriving in Hatta, friends received a text message. In it, Roman wrote that he was ‘stuck’ in the mountains on the border with Oman and that he needed 170,000 euros immediately.
From that moment on it remained quiet. At least, the phones stayed on for another two days. Signals were still received in Oman and Cape Town until that too ended in early October. Afterwards, this turned out to be a mistake on the part of the perpetrators.
Nothing was too crazy for the Russian couple. Until things went wrong.
UAE police recently arrested three Russians as suspects. It concerns two ex-soldiers who had served in Ukraine and a man who had previously worked as a detective in a homicide unit. This trio probably lured Roman and Anna to the mountains.
According to the police, the terrified Roman probably immediately gave the password to all his crypto wallets. But there was nothing on those accounts.
When they also failed to get money from friends by telephone, they were tortured and cut into pieces.
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Emirati police found traces of Anna Novak’s blood in a villa, a rental car and knives used to convince the couple to hand over money.
Ultimately, five other Russians were also arrested, reports Fontanka news site in St. Petersburg. According to the judiciary, they probably worked on behalf of angry investors who had lost tens of millions.
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Novak himself turns out to be of poor behavior afterwards. The man who bragged about contacts with billionaires is said to have pocketed 35 million euros when setting up a company. For example, Novak stated that his crypto technology would speed up and facilitate payments worldwide.
Swindler
The Russian was arrested in 2020 for crypto fraud and received a six-year prison sentence in Russia. Three years later he was released and fled to the UAE.
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According to Russian media, Roman Novak knew how to move easily in circles of sheikhs and the rich. According to international media, he presented himself as a successful tech entrepreneur. “In reality, he was a talented manipulator.”
The children of the murdered couple were brought from the Emirates by Anna’s parents.