Ashwini Roopesh

A Russian crypto entrepreneur with a controversial past has become the centre of one of the most chilling Dubai crime stories of the year. Roman Novak and his wife, Anna, were allegedly kidnapped, held for ransom, and then butchered in a resort in the middle of a desert.
To watch your partner / love being tortured… must have been horrific.
The couple was last seen on October 2 after their driver dropped them off at a mountain resort near a lake in the Hatta area, close to the UAE border with Oman.

Reports said the couple exited their vehicle and then entered another car, thinking they were going to meet potential investors. However, Roman and Anna were taken to a villa in the town of Hatta, where the alleged kidnappers tried to steal their cryptocurrency. The couple thought they were meeting potential investors and were lured to a resort on the outskirts of Dubai.
As per newly released details, the captors allegedly tortured the couple in front of each other in gruesome ways and forced them to provide access to their crypto wallets. Cops said Roman frantically sent messages to his contacts at some point, claiming he was “stuck” and needed around $202 million.

The alleged kidnappers tortured the couple side-by-side and forced them to unlock their crypto wallets, but they were found to be empty.
They then ended the couple’s lives, dismembered their bodies, and stuffed parts of them into thick plastic bags, which were then doused in industrial solvents to speed up decomposition and erase DNA evidence. New details revealed that the couple was tortured side-by-side and forced to give the codes to their cryptocurrency wallets.

An investigation into the couple’s disappearance began after relatives contacted authorities and said they hadn’t heard from them in a while. Officials conducted a massive search of a 500-by-500-meter square stretch of sand near the barren Hajar mountains where their phones had last pinged. Their remains were uncovered in the desert area. Officials believe the perpetrators also hid evidence of the crime in different areas.
“The investigation has established that the k*llers had accomplices who helped organise the abduction. They rented cars and premises where the two victims were held by force. After the m*rder, the perpetrators disposed of the knives and the victims’ personal belongings, leaving them in different emirates. - Svetlana Petrenko of the Russian Investigative Committee.

Roman and Anna, who left behind two children, were believed to be living expensive lifestyles in the UAE. Online photos often showed them in expensive cars, including a Rolls-Royce and a vintage British Cobra car. They were also seen flying in private jets and enjoying vacations in foreign destinations.
However, Roman also had a notorious past in the Russian crypto scene. He was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison in 2020 for a large-scale fraud case. After being granted parole, he moved to the UAE in 2023 and continued seeking investors for different ventures. He raised around $500 million from prominent Chinese, Russian, and Middle Eastern investors, presenting himself as the founder of a crypto payment platform called Fintopio.
But after hoarding the investment money, the husband and father allegedly fled with the cash. Roman allegedly fled with investors’ money after presenting himself as the founder of a crypto payment platform called Fintopio

Investigators believe the alleged kidnappers may have been after the stolen investment money. Three Russian citizens, former police officer Konstantin Shakht, Yury Sharypov, and Vladimir Dalekin were identified as suspects in the case. This is how many reacted

Most of these big players offer big returns on $BTC or $ETH but you all know that nothing comes easy.
What do you think is the biggest lesson from Roman Novak's story? - Beware of flashy crypto entrepreneurs or Due diligence is needed in crypto investments.