In the UAE, Russian crypto-trader Roman Novak and his wife Anna were allegedly kidnapped and murdered. According to the Investigative Committee (SK), the couple lost contact in early October after meeting with unknown investors in the town of Hatta. The press reported that the alleged perpetrators have already been arrested and turned out to be Russian citizens. However, according to an alternative version, Roman Novak might have faked his own death to escape debts. Previously, he defrauded investors who had put $500 million into his venture and fled abroad with the funds. The Investigative Committee (SK) of the Russian Federation has opened a criminal case for murder following the disappearance of the couple in the United Arab Emirates. According to media reports, the individuals in question are crypto-trader Roman Novak, who called himself a “friend of Durov,” and his wife Anna. As reported by the agency, their relatives informed law enforcement agencies about the disappearance. “According to the investigation, on October 2, 2025, the couple was scheduled to meet with unidentified investors in the city of Hatta. For this purpose, a personal driver took them to a parking lot near a reservoir. There, they transferred to another car and headed to the arranged meeting. After that, contact with the young people was lost,” the statement reads. SHOT, “Fontanka,” and Channel 78 reported that the Russian couple was first kidnapped and then killed. Someone from the defrauded investors might have been involved in the couple’s abduction. What is known about the fatality? According to “78” and SHOT, unidentified persons kidnapped Novak and his wife, then extorted a significant sum of money from them. “Fontanka” specified that the target was the man’s crypto wallet, which was thought to hold billions of dollars, but in reality, it was empty. “After October 4, their mobile phones were tracked for two more days in Hatta and Oman, and then in Cape Town (South Africa). Shortly after that, the signal broke off,” informed 78. “Fontanka” added that the murder allegedly took place at a rented villa in the suburbs of Hatta. The Russians were treated brutally—their remains were dismembered, packaged, and left in various containers in the vicinity of a shopping and entertainment complex in Hatta. RT, citing a source, specified that the bodies have not yet been found. SHOT and Channel 78 claim the crime has already been solved. According to these publications, the kidnappers and murderers of the couple are Russian citizens. They have already been detained and will soon be transferred to St. Petersburg. However, RT states that not all alleged culprits may have been arrested at this time, but those who have been caught have confessed their guilt. The couple left behind two young children. “78” writes that their grandfather has already taken custody of them. Meanwhile, Mash reported that the couple’s kidnapping and execution might be a hoax. According to fellow investors, Roman Novak might have faked his disappearance to get rid of debts. The crypto-trader’s father-in-law also holds the same opinion, as the Telegram channel added. Who is Roman Novak? Roma Novak positioned himself as a crypto businessman and called himself a friend of Pavel Durov, creating the image of a successful operator. In reality, however, the man turned out to be a fraud. According to SHOT, in 2016-2017, he misappropriated over 7 million rubles from two St. Petersburg businessmen. For instance, Novak promised to deposit over 6.3 million rubles into the accounts of the co-owner of the “Sport in the People” project but took 3.3 million of it. By a similar method, he defrauded the co-owner of Transcrypt, stealing 4 million rubles from him. RT reported that in 2020, Novak was sentenced to six years in a general-regime colony for these counts, but he appears to have been released early. After his release, Novak moved to Dubai and, as Mash reported, “returned to his old ways.” “At first, he introduced himself as the deputy chairman of TG and a member of the messenger’s board of directors. Then, he tried to sell supposedly Telegram bonds before the public release and TON tokens at a discount of up to 50%. The minimum investment was $1 million, with installment options available for the wealthy. For credibility, he used fake screenshots, stories about sheikhs, and insider information allegedly from people close to Durov,” the Telegram channel detailed. After this, Novak launched another “project”—a fast crypto transfer application called Fintopio. He entrusted its development to Ukrainian specialists and began looking for investors himself, assuring them the project was connected to major IT players. Here too, he used tales of “connections” with Arab princes and Durov. However, as soon as Novak secured the funds, he promptly fled. According to Mash, this time to Cape Town. The $500 million invested in Fintopio also ended up there.
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