Killer of 'tortured' crypto millionaire and wife found in desert dies in prison
One of Roman and Anna Novak's suspected murderers died in his prison cell last month, it's been revealed by Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service.
Along with drugs smuggler Konstantin Shakht and soldier Yury Sharypov, Russian native Vladimir Dalekin was believed to have posed as a crypto investor in October 2025; meeting the millionaire Novaks on false pretences near Dubai before abducting them, torturing them in front one another and finally, killing them.
Per The Daily Mail, it's reported by the state that Dalekin passed away from a 'longstanding chronic illness', although these supposed health issues were never on public record prior to his death.
This mysterious turn of events occurred on Wednesday, 16 September, but official word only came out of Russia this week.
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As for what happened to Fintopio founder Roman, 38, and his wife, 37, they were taken to the village of Hatta by the three criminals.
Here, in a villa, they were brutally forced to hand over codes in order for their captors to access their personal cryptocurrency, yet the wallets were completely empty.
The husband, who himself spent some time in jail for embezzlement, is said to have sent a text at this time, claiming they were both 'stuck in the mountains on the Oman border' and desperately needed £152,000.
Investigators found that Roman and Anna were subsequently stabbed and made to watch each other die.
The three killers dismembered their bodies before jamming them inside thick polyethylene bags and drowning them in chemicals.
Roman and Anna's corpses were cast in concrete and later dumped in the desert.
Phone tracking data revealed they drove from Hatta to Oman and then Cape Town, South Africa, before the signal was lost. However, UAE law enforcement and Russian police believe the phones were used to confuse investigators.
Per the Russian paper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Roman was under investigation at the time of his disappearance over the alleged theft of above £38 million from crypto investors.
Among his victims were businessmen from China and Middle Eastern territories.
KP wrote of the deceased: "He had a knack for presenting himself as someone operating on the same level as Pavel Durov and Arab sheikhs. In reality, Novak was simply a talented manipulator who managed to convince people to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars".
Back when the three killers were first detained, Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said they employed accomplices to help organise the Novaks' abduction.
"They rented cars and premises where the victims were held by force," she said. "After the murder, the perpetrators disposed of the knives and the victims' personal belongings, leaving them in different Emirates."
The committee further confirmed that the couple were meant to meet investors in Hatta, as their personal driver took them to a car park by a lake, where they were transferred to another vehicle and never seen alive again.
As a result of their deaths, Roman and Anna's orphaned young children are now in the care of their grandparents.
Topics: Crime, Cryptocurrency, Russia
Dan Seddon