High-flying crypto scammer and wife dismembered after fleecing investors
Roman Novak, a convicted Russian crypto scammer, and his wife Anna were murdered and dismembered in the United Arab Emirates in early October 2025. The couple was lured to a meeting with supposed investors near Dubai, where they were kidnapped and held for ransom. After discovering that Novak’s crypto wallets were empty, the kidnappers allegedly killed and mutilated the couple.
Details of the incident include:
- Victims: Roman Novak, 38, had previously served time in a Russian prison for a cryptocurrency scam involving $100,000. After moving to Dubai, he reportedly swindled new investors out of $500 million through a fraudulent app called Fintopio. He and his wife, Anna, had two young children.
- The Trap: The Novaks were last seen alive on October 2, 2025, after being driven to a mountain resort in Hatta for a meeting with “investors”. This meeting was a trap, and they were taken to a rented villa where the captors demanded access to Novak’s cryptocurrency.
- The Ransom: Novak reportedly sent a desperate message to a contact indicating he was “stuck in the mountains” and needed $200,000. However, his kidnappers discovered his crypto wallets were empty.
- Discovery of Remains: After the kidnappers killed the couple, their bodies were allegedly dismembered and left in trash cans and buried in the desert near Fujairah.
- Investigation and Arrests: Seven suspects have been arrested, including alleged former investors and a former Russian Interior Ministry employee. The phones of the Novaks were tracked moving across several countries after their disappearance, a deceptive maneuver to mislead authorities.