According to Russian media, the bodies of Roman Novak and his wife were discovered in the United Arab Emirates. Shortly before, the couple had met with a group of men who introduced themselves as investors.
Novak, a native of the Leningrad region, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2020 for fraud. At that time, he deceived investors out of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. After being released in 2023, he returned to crypto, this time promoting the payment platform Fintopia.
According to reports, through this platform he may have defrauded investors from China, Middle Eastern countries, and other regions for up to $500 million.
After that, Novak fled to Dubai. In October of this year, he and his wife Anna met with a man who introduced himself as an investor. Together, they drove to a villa on the outskirts of the city.
At the location, Novak was met by a group of men who demanded access to his crypto wallets. However, when the attackers gained access, it turned out that all the accounts were empty. After this, Novak and his wife were killed.
According to the publication, the couple’s bodies were dismembered and hidden in bags, which were later found in the desert near Fujairah. The killers tried to cover their tracks by changing cars and leaving the UAE for various countries, including Russia and Georgia.
UAE police managed to track the group’s movements and identify eight suspects, all of whom are Russian citizens.
Five of them acted as “mules”: they rented the villa and prepared for the attack. According to media reports, they have not been charged with murder.
Among the others are a former homicide investigator previously convicted on drug charges, as well as two veterans of the ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine who were dismissed from service.
Crypto attacks reach a new level
The story of Novak and his wife fits into a growing wave of violent crimes related to cryptocurrency, so-called “wrench attacks”.
According to David Richards, head of the analytics and forensics company BlockchainUnmasked, the number of such cases is rising rapidly.
“We are seeing a clear surge in wrench attacks, when criminals force access to wallets through threats or torture,” he said.
He also noted that according to tracker Jameson Lopp, there have already been 48 such incidents registered in 2025 alone.
Throughout 2024, 32 cases were recorded. According to Richards, the growth is explained not only by the rising value of cryptocurrencies, but also by the fact that criminals are increasingly using social networks and technology, raising their level of preparation.
“In France alone, 10 such cases were recorded in the first half of 2025. And in the US, the increase was 169%,” Richards specified.
As in the story of Roman and Anna Novak, many of these attacks were accompanied by gruesome details, from finger amputations to murders.
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Richards also noted that the real number of attacks is likely underestimated. Such crimes often go unreported, especially in the crypto sphere.
At the same time, he emphasizes that the problem is broader than just cryptocurrency:
“This is not something strictly specific to the crypto market. It’s a wave of violent crimes where digital assets are chosen as the target.”
And he added:
“Most likely, the situation will only get worse in 2026 if privacy tools and international law enforcement cooperation are not urgently scaled up.”
Although all this sounds frightening, according to Richards, the average private investor has nothing to fear. Especially if they trade only through regulated exchanges and do not publicize their activity.
“This was not a random raid. He stole $500 million, had already been convicted of fraud, and behaved provocatively in Dubai. He was walking around with a target on his back,” he says.
According to the analyst, the motive in this case was revenge. Local media wrote about this as well. People like Novak often make enemies who have both the desire and the resources to act. And considering that many scammers leave digital traces, finding them is often easier than it seems.
Richards advises private investors to behave as “boringly” as possible. Don’t brag about your income online and be sure to use multi-factor protection, not just regular two-factor authentication.
