A Russian cryptocurrency scammer and his spouse were abducted and murdered overseas following an alleged ransom demand. Roman Novak and his wife Anna were declared missing in early October when they became unreachable to their family. The couple was taken by assailants who asked for money for their release but resorted to killing them in the United Arab Emirates after failing to secure the desired sum, as per local media reports on November 7. The suspects, also Russian nationals, have been apprehended and are set to be extradited to Saint Petersburg.
According to sources, the couple’s phones were traced for several days post their disappearance in Hatta and Oman, then in Cape Town, South Africa, before the signal disappeared on October 4. Anna’s father and stepmother journeyed to Dubai to take in their underage grandchildren once the couple went missing.
The father refrained from disclosing further details to Russian media due to the ongoing inquiry. Novak had a prior conviction for fraud in 2020 and received a six-year sentence in a general regime colony.
Before vanishing, Novak portrayed himself as a prosperous crypto investor and the creator of the payment platform Fintopio, which he asserted facilitated rapid cryptocurrency transactions. He purportedly persuaded investors from China, the Middle East, and other regions to contribute to his venture, promising collaborations with major technology companies and asserting personal connections with Arab royalties and Telegram founder Pavel Durov. After amassing around USD 500 million (GBP 381 million) from investors, Novak purportedly fled, leaving employees unpaid and investors empty-handed.
In a previous fraud case, the court found Novak guilty of deceiving partners in projects named “Sport v narod” and “Transcrypt,” swindling a total of about RUB 7.3 million (£68,500) by manipulating payments and exploiting trust.
Some Russian media sources have suggested that one or more of Novak’s defrauded investors might have been involved in the murders, although this has not been confirmed by investigators.
Reports also indicate that while several suspects have confessed, the victims’ bodies have yet to be discovered. The investigation is ongoing.
This development follows a global crackdown led by the National Crime Agency on a multi-billion pound Russian money laundering scheme, with ties to the UK. The NCA described the extensive investigation as ranging “from McMafia, through to Narcos, through to Le Carre,” involving drug cartels, cybercriminals, and spies collaborating “on a scale we’ve never previously seen.” The syndicate, led by stylish Russian financier Ekaterina Zhdanova and Russian-born Ukrainian George Rossi, exchanged cash from British street gangs for cyber currency earned by Russian hackers.