Overview
- The Novaks vanished after traveling to Hatta for a purported investor meeting, switching to another vehicle before contact was lost.
- Roman Novak messaged contacts that he was stuck near the Oman border and urgently needed $200,000, as the couple’s phones later pinged in Hatta, Oman and Cape Town.
- Police confirm the remains were recovered in a remote area near the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, with forensic work cataloguing missing devices and other evidence.
- Authorities are probing a motive to force access to Novak’s digital assets tied to his Fintopio venture and prior fraud cases, including a separate inquiry into alleged thefts exceeding £380 million.
- Multiple suspects have been detained in Russia and Kazakhstan—named arrests include ex-officer Konstantin Shakht, Yury Sharypov and Vladimir Dalekin—with UAE and Russian agencies coordinating the investigation as the couple’s children are left orphaned.