JERUSALEM (VINnews) — An Israeli private investigator was arrested about three months ago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on suspicion of involvement in the double murder of Russian crypto entrepreneur Roman Novak and his wife Anna. The couple’s dismembered bodies were found in a desert area of the United Arab Emirates in November 2025.

Israeli sources confirmed the arrest of Michael Greenberg, founder of Mike Green Private Investigation in Thailand, a Bangkok-based firm that has operated in the private investigations field for more than two decades.

According to a report, Greenberg was detained during a violent raid by United Arab Emirates special forces. Contact with him was severed for an extended period following the arrest, raising concerns among his relatives for his safety. After several weeks, Israeli sources received confirmation that he was being held, but authorities have refused to officially disclose the reasons for his arrest or the status of legal proceedings against him.

Novak, who was convicted in Russia in 2020 for defrauding investors in a cryptocurrency-related scheme, had been living in the United Arab Emirates since his release from prison. During his time there, he was reportedly involved in raising $500 million for Fintopio, a cryptocurrency venture.

Prior to their murder, Novak and his wife were allegedly abducted, apparently in an attempt to force them to surrender access codes to their cryptocurrency wallets. Russian investigators from the SKR (Investigative Committee of Russia) later arrested three suspects, two Russian nationals and one Kazakh citizen.

According to the report, Greenberg is not suspected of committing the murders themselves, but of having connections to the perpetrators. Data uncovered when Russian investigators examined the suspects’ phones reportedly led to Greenberg’s arrest and the extension of his detention by Dubai police. In addition to Greenberg, others involved in private investigation activities in Dubai were detained under similar circumstances.

This is not Greenberg’s first legal entanglement. Nearly five years ago, he was suspected in Thailand of involvement in planning the kidnapping of a Taiwanese businessman amid a business dispute. Two Americans, including a former U.S. Marine and a Thai national were arrested at the time. According to reports then, one of the Americans had hired Greenberg, who allegedly helped plan the abduction. NBC reported at the time that Greenberg was not arrested by Thai police because he could not be located.