Founder of multi-billion dollar crypto project kidnapped and extorted in Dubai; previously imprisoned for 6 years for fraud.

【BitPush】An investment meeting that initially seemed secure ultimately turned into a shocking tragedy in the crypto world.

Russian entrepreneur Roman Novak and his wife Anna were both murdered in the UAE. Novak, who previously defrauded investors of millions of dollars through a crypto scam project and served six years in prison in 2020, moved to Dubai after his release to make a comeback—he launched a crypto app called Fintopio, which reportedly raised hundreds of millions of dollars from new investors.

One day in early October, the Novak couple drove to Hatta—a location near the Oman border, claiming they were meeting a sincere investor. However, upon arrival, they changed cars and never appeared again.

After relatives reported them missing, Russian and UAE police collaborated to piece together the truth: the couple was lured to a rented villa, where what was supposed to be a business meeting turned into a kidnapping scene. The kidnappers' clear goal was to force Novak to hand over large amounts of crypto assets stored in wallets and accounts—funds that either came from Fintopio or from his previous shady projects.

Unfortunately, the kidnappers' plan failed. In the end, Novak and his wife did not survive and were unable to leave the villa alive.

This story once again confirms a principle: in the crypto world, wealth flows quickly, but so do the risks.