By ToI Staff

Alleged cryptocurrency fraudster Roman Novak and his wife Anna, in an undated photo. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

An Israeli man was arrested about three months ago in Dubai in connection with the killings of an alleged crypto scam artist and his wife, Hebrew-language media reported Sunday.

Michael Greenberg (also known as Mike Green), a private investigator in Thailand, is not suspected of killing Russian national Roman Novak and his wife Anna in the United Arab Emirates last year, but is alleged to have had some kind of involvement, according to Channel 12, which cited a report last week from the Intelligence Online website.

Greenberg is suspected of having ties to eight suspects in the case who have been arrested. Russian investigators found information on the suspects’ phones that led to Greenberg being arrested in Dubai, according to the report.

There was no immediate comment from the Foreign Ministry.

In November, the New York Post and other outlets reported that Novak raised $500 million through the creation of a fraudulent cryptocurrency app, then went on the run with the money.

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Novak and his wife Anna, who were living in the UAE, were apparently lured by criminals to a desert location where an extortion attempt took place.

According to the report, when the kidnappers found that Novak’s crypto wallet was empty, they apparently murdered the pair and dismembered them.

A December report from the Daily Mail, which cited Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, said the husband and wife were forced to watch each other being tortured and that their remains were encased in concrete, and then dumped in the desert where they were eventually found by investigators.