OMG! This is so horrible!
According to Russian investigators (via The US Sun on Wednesday), Roman Novak, a convicted crypto scammer, and his TV reporter wife, Anna Novak, were forced to watch each other get tortured to death. The couple’s family sounded the alarm to the Dubai police after they disappeared on October 2, fearing they were kidnapped. Sadly, they were right to be worried.
Roman and Anna were reportedly tricked into meeting up with investors at a villa in Hatta — about 80 miles from Dubai. However, they turned out to be fraudsters. They allegedly kidnapped Roman and Anna to try to get their hands on his roughly £380 million (or $506,359,473) digital fortune.
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Russian media reported they were tormented next to each other in the desert while the kidnappers attempted to make them unlock their crypto wallets. But when Anna and Roman finally opened it, the group discovered their accounts were empty. The men then allegedly killed the two before shoving their remains into plastic bags and dousing them in industrial solvents to speed up decomposition. So awful.
Fortunately, police found them fast enough before all the DNA evidence vanished. Cops reportedly traced Roman and Anna’s phones to Hatta, Oman, and Cape Town, which they believe was done on purpose to keep them off track. They eventually located their phones in the remote Hajar mountains on the Oman border because Roman reached out to contacts, saying he was “stuck” and needed £152,000. Following a search of the area, they uncovered Roman and Anna’s remains.
Police arrested three suspects — 53-year-old former police officer Konstantin Shakht, who is said to be the mastermind behind the plot, Yury Sharypov, and Vladimir Dalekin. Sharypov and Dalekin already reportedly pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and killings, while Shakht maintains his innocence. They’re in custody amid the investigation.
Police also expect more arrests soon. Russian investigator Svetlana Petrenko said:
“The investigation established that the killers had accomplices who helped organise the abduction. They rented cars and premises where the two victims were held by force. After the murder, the perpetrators disposed of the knives and the victims’ personal belongings, leaving them in different emirates.”
The Novaks moved to the UAE while Roman, who founded the cryptocurrency company Fintopio, was on parole following a six-year sentence in Russia for fraud back in 2020. He allegedly defrauded his crypto investors of £38 million. Whoa.
What a terrible situation. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.
[Image via Roman Novak/Instagram]
