Russian national Roman Novak, convicted of crypto fraud, and his wife Anna are reported by several sources to have been killed in the UAE after being missing for over a month.

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The couple disappeared in early October after travelling to Hatta, a village southeast of Dubai, reportedly to meet potential investors, Russian outlet Fontanka reported.

Novak had been sentenced to six years in prison in Russia in 2020 for large-scale fraud. After being released on parole, he moved to the UAE and launched a cryptocurrency application called Fintopio. The project reportedly raised about $500 million before investors accused him of fraud.

Russian Investigators Launch UAE Murder Case

According to the publication, relatives last heard from the Novaks on 2 October. Investigators suspect that they were kidnapped by a group seeking ransom or access to their funds. Fontanka’s sources said the kidnappers killed the couple after failing to obtain the money.

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The Russian Investigative Committee announced on Friday that it had opened a murder investigation into the disappearance of a married couple in the UAE, without naming the victims. It said the pair were driven by their driver to a car park near a lake before entering another vehicle.

Seven Detained in Russian Murder Case

Fontanka reported that seven suspects had been detained in Russia in connection with the case. Three of them are accused of murder, while four others are alleged to have helped launder money. Two of the main suspects are from St. Petersburg and one from Kazakhstan. All three are believed to have fled the UAE after the killings.

Sources cited by Fontanka said the victims’ bodies were dismembered and placed in containers near a shopping centre in Hatta, though their remains have not been officially recovered.

Source: Finance Magnates