Russian Crypto Couple Kidnapped, Killed in UAE; Suspects Arrested

A Russian cryptocurrency entrepreneur and his wife were kidnapped, tortured, and killed in the United Arab Emirates in October, with their bodies later found encased in concrete and buried in a remote desert near the Oman border, investigators have revealed.

Roman Novak, 38, and Anna Novak, 37, disappeared on October 2 while traveling to Hatta, a mountainous area about 80 miles southeast of Dubai. The couple had been driven partway by their personal driver before switching to another vehicle to meet what they believed were potential investors at a rented villa. According to investigators, the pair was abducted upon arrival and subjected to prolonged torture as the perpetrators demanded access codes to Novak's cryptocurrency wallets, which they believed held hundreds of millions of dollars. The couple was forced to watch each other die from repeated stabbings before their bodies were packed into thick plastic bags, doused with industrial solvents to destroy DNA evidence, and encased in concrete for burial in the Hajar Mountains.

Desperate text messages sent from Novak's phone that day alerted friends to their plight. He wrote that they were stuck in the mountains near the Oman...