A Russian cryptocurrency scammer and his wife were kidnapped and murdered in the UAE

Jinse Finance reported that Russian entrepreneur Roman Novak and his wife Anna were kidnapped and murdered in the UAE. Roman Novak had defrauded investors of millions of dollars through various cryptocurrency projects. In 2020, Roman Novak was sentenced to six years in prison for fraud. Afterward, Roman Novak moved to Dubai, created the cryptocurrency application Fintopio, and reportedly raised hundreds of millions of dollars from new investors. In early October, Roman Novak and his wife went to Hatta, near the UAE-Oman border, to attend what appeared to be a promising investor meeting. However, they changed vehicles and subsequently disappeared without a trace. After several days without contact, Roman Novak's relatives reported the incident to the police. Authorities in Russia and the UAE launched an investigation, suspecting that the couple had been lured under false pretenses to a rented villa, where the supposed business meeting suddenly turned into a kidnapping and ransom case. The kidnappers attempted to force Roman Novak to hand over a large amount of cryptocurrency, reportedly stored in wallets and accounts associated with his application and previous fraudulent activities. The kidnappers failed, and tragedy ensued: both Roman Novak and his wife were killed.