A convicted cryptocurrency fraudster and his wife watched each other being tortured to death after kidnappers failed to access their €430 million fortune, Russian investigators said.
Roman Novak and his wife Ana went missing on October 2 after being lured to the Hatta area, around 120 kilometers from Dubai, by criminals posing as potential investors.
Their mobile phones were last tracked near the Hajar Mountains on the Oman border, where police later discovered the couple’s remains during a large search in a desert area.
Russian media revealed new details about what happened after the couple was abducted, reporting that they were tortured in front of each other while their kidnappers attempted to forcibly access their cryptocurrency wallets, according to the Daily Mail.
Reports say that when the codes were eventually produced, the wallets were empty. The killers then packed the bodies into heavy polyethylene bags and used industrial solvents to accelerate decomposition and destroy DNA evidence.
The investigation began after relatives informed Dubai police that the couple had disappeared and were likely kidnapped.
Roman, who was sentenced in 2020 to six years in a Russian prison for a major fraud, moved to the UAE after being granted conditional release.
There, he launched a crypto app called Fintopio, allegedly attracting €430 million in investments before being accused of fraud. It is believed the kidnappers targeted him believing they could seize that sum.
“Investigators determined that the killers had accomplices who helped organize the abduction. They rented vehicles and premises where the two victims were held against their will. After the murders, the perpetrators disposed of knives and personal belongings of the victims, leaving them in different locations,” said Svetlana Petrenko of the Russian Investigative Committee.
Three Russian citizens were arrested in Russia after returning from the UAE. They have been identified as former police officer Konstantin Shakht, Yuriy Sharipov, and Vladimir Dalekin.
Investigators say the men are suspected of direct involvement in the kidnapping and murders. Sharipov and Dalekin pleaded guilty, while Shakht denies the charges. All three are being held in custody until December 28 as investigations continue across Russia and the Emirates.
The motive is believed to be purely financial, related to Novak’s crypto operations and the enormous sums he allegedly controlled.
Russian officials say further arrests could follow as they try to identify the entire network behind one of the most shocking overseas murder cases in recent years.
It is reported that the couple was driven to Hatta by their personal driver before transferring to another vehicle for the remainder of the journey. Novak then sent a message to his contacts from a phone, saying he was “stuck in the mountains on the Oman border” and urgently needed €170,000. Investigators say contact with the couple was lost shortly afterward.
Their phones were then tracked to Hatta, Oman, and Cape Town before signals were lost in early October.
Detectives believe the phones were deliberately left active in these locations to confuse investigators.
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Source:Daily Mail Foto: Facebook