Further disturbing details have emerged in the shocking case of the crypto millionaire and his wife who were allegedly forced to watch each other's torture before being killed and dumped in a desert.
Roman Novak, 38, and his wife Anna, 37, were lured to a villa in Hatta, around 80 miles from Dubai, back in October by men posing as prospective investors into the Russian man's reported £380 million fortune.
Novak had founded the company Fintopio, a company which said it could provide quick cryptocurrency transfers and partnerships with elite technological companies, but he has also been linked with numerous cases of financial deceit, earning himself a six-year sentence behind bars after a large-scale fraud case.
Their meeting with the proposed investors soon went south as they were kidnapped by the group of men and tortured into handing over codes which would have granted the captors access to the couple's significant crypto funds, but the wallets were found to be empty.
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Novak had reportedly sent a text suggesting that he and his wife were 'stuck in the mountains on the Oman border' and that he urgently needed £152,000.
Investigative reports suggest that they were both stabbed and made to watch each other die and once they'd passed away, their bodies were seemingly mutilated and buried close to the bordering country of Oman.
The captors then went to extreme methods in an attempt to ensure that Roman and Anna's dismembered bodies would never be found, as they were stuffed into thick polyethylene bags before being doused with strong chemicals.
It has now been confirmed by local media that their bodies had been cast in concrete and dumped in the sand.
Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, citing a source close to the inquiry, said: "They were poured into concrete. The remains were found back in November."
Despite the captors' best efforts to disguise the bodies and their own identities, three Russian men have since been arrested in connection with the awful case, including former police officer Constantin Shakht, Yury Sharypov and Vladimir Dalekin.
Sharypov and Dalekin have both pleaded guilty to the crime, but Shakht continues to deny any part in the horrific crime. They are likely to be extradited to St Petersburg, having been arrested on their return to Russia from the UAE.
Roman and Anna also leave behind two children who have been orphaned, and they have reportedly left in the care of their grandparents.
Forensic work and a wider criminal investigation are continuing into the appalling case.
Topics: Crime, Dubai, Cryptocurrency
James Moorhouse