A Russia crypto Roman Novak went missing with his wife but the pair were later killed – he had been known for defrauded partners out of thousands
A Russian cryptocurrency fraudster and his wife have been kidnapped and killed abroad after allegedly being held for ransom.
Roman Novak and his wife Anna were reported missing by relatives in early October after they could not get in touch with them for days. The pair were abducted by suspects who allegedly demanded money for their release but killed them, in the United Arab Emirates, when they failed to obtain the sum they wanted, local media reported on November 7. The suspects, who are also Russian citizens, have been detained and will soon be extradited to Saint Petersburg.
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Sources said that the couple’s mobile phones were detected for several days after their disappearance in Hatta and Oman, and later in Cape Town, South Africa, before the signal vanished completely on October 4. Anna’s father and stepmother reportedly travelled to Dubai to collect their underage grandchildren after the couple went missing.
Her father declined to share further details with Russian media because of the ongoing investigation. Novak had previously been convicted of fraud in 2020 and sentenced to six years in a general regime colony.
Before his disappearance, Novak presented himself as a successful crypto investor and founder of the payment platform Fintopio – which he claimed facilitated fast cryptocurrency transfers.
He allegedly convinced investors from China, the Middle East and other countries to contribute to his venture, promising cooperation with major technology firms and claiming to have personal ties with Arab princes and Telegram founder Pavel Durov. After securing around USD 500 million (GBP 381 million) from investors, Novak reportedly fled, leaving employees unpaid and investors without their funds.
In one of the earlier fraud cases, the court found that Novak had defrauded partners in projects called “Sport v narod” and “Transcrypt”, stealing a total of about RUB 7.3 million (£68,500) by manipulating payments and abusing trust.
Some Russian media outlets have suggested that one or more of Novak’s defrauded investors may have been involved in the killing, though this has not been confirmed by investigators.
Reports also stated that while several suspects have already confessed, the victims’ bodies have not yet been found. The investigation is ongoing.
This comes after the National Crime Agency led a global crackdown on a multi-billion pound Russian money laundering operation, which had links to the UK.
The NCA said the huge investigation stretched “from McMafia, through to Narcos, through to Le Carre” with drugs gangs, cyber-criminals and spies all working together “on a scale we’ve never previously seen”.
The syndicate, headed by glam Russian financier Ekaterina Zhdanova and Russian-born Ukrainian George Rossi, swapped cash from British street gangs for cyber-currency earned by Russian hackers.