Panicked texts reveal the huge sum of money crypto millionaire owed before brutal death

A crypto millionaire whose dismembered body was found buried in a Dubai desert sent a string of desperate text messages before his death — revealing he owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Roman Novak, 38, and his wife Anna, 37, were discovered in the sand after allegedly being lured to a meeting with people posing as “investors” at the Hatta mountain resort, Russian new site Fontaka reports.

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According to reports, the couple were allegedly extorted for cryptocurrency before being killed. In the hours before his death, Roman sent messages to contacts saying he was “stuck in the mountains on the Oman border” and needed to urgently find $200,000 (£152,100).

“Subsequently, contact with the young couple was lost,” said Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for the Russian Investigative Committee, who also revealed he had been texting multiple other people about the money.

Roman, a convicted fraudster who previously served six years in prison in Russia, had relaunched himself as a crypto entrepreneur after his release in 2023. He founded Fintopia, a platform promising fast cryptocurrency transfers, and reportedly borrowed $500 million from investors — before disappearing with the funds.

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It has now been revealed by the Russian Investigative Committee that Roman was desperately trying to gather the money together in his final messages.

The couple’s phones were later tracked from Hatta to Oman, Cape Town and South Africa before the signals went dead. Authorities in Russia and the UAE are now working together to investigate the murders, which are believed to be linked to his past business dealings.

Three Russian men have since been arrested in connection with the killings: ex-homicide investigator and alleged drug smuggler Konstantin Shakht, 53, and two former soldiers, Yury Sharypov, 46, and Vladimir Dalekin, 45, who both fought in Ukraine.

Roman and Anna’s young children who have been orphaned are currently in the care of their grandparents, reports say.

Featured image credit: Instagram/@t0r