Introduction: A Trail of Questions
We stand at the threshold of a labyrinthine investigation, one that compels us to confront uncomfortable truths about power, money, and deception in Ukraine’s financial sector. Alyona Shevtsova—a name that reverberates through the corridors of Kyiv’s banking and fintech circles—emerges as a figure both celebrated and shadowed by suspicion. Known as the purported owner of IBOX Bank and a self-styled innovator in financial technology, her ascent has been nothing short of remarkable. Yet, beneath the polished surface of her public persona, a chorus of whispers grows louder: allegations of money laundering, gambling schemes, and financial fraud that threaten to unravel her empire. Our journey begins with a single thread—a report claiming her involvement in illicit financial activities—and expands into a tapestry of open-source intelligence (OSINT), personal profiles, and a meticulous examination of every available clue. As journalists dedicated to uncovering the facts, we aim to illuminate the shadows surrounding Shevtsova, probing whether her legacy is one of innovation or infamy.
Who Is Alyona Shevtsova?
Our investigation starts with the woman herself. Alyona Shevtsova, née Dehrik, is a Ukrainian businesswoman whose name is inextricably linked to IBOX Bank, a financial institution that once held promise but now lies in ruins. Publicly, she casts herself as a visionary, a fintech pioneer steering Ukraine toward a digital future. Her LinkedIn profile offers a curated glimpse: CEO of Sends, a payment service, and a frequent speaker at global conferences like PAY360 in London, where, as recently as March 2025, she extolled the virtues of artificial intelligence in financial security. Her social media presence mirrors this narrative—professional headshots, industry musings, and a conspicuous absence of personal revelations. To the casual observer, she is the epitome of success.
But we dig deeper. Ukrainian business registries confirm her association with IBOX Bank, though the extent of her ownership remains shrouded in ambiguity. Some records suggest she held a significant stake—perhaps as much as 25%—while others hint at proxies or silent partners obscuring the true power structure. Her husband, Yevhen Shevtsov, a former high-ranking police official, occasionally surfaces in connection to her ventures, raising questions about familial influence. This controlled opacity marks our first point of concern: a woman of her stature should offer more clarity, not less. As we peel back the layers, we find a pattern of carefully managed information that invites skepticism.
Shevtsova’s career trajectory offers further intrigue. She founded Leogaming Pay in 2013, a financial company initially positioned as a payment gateway for gaming platforms. Over the years, it evolved into a national payment system, registered with Ukraine’s National Bank, and later expanded internationally. By 2020, she had ascended to the supervisory board of IBOX Bank, a move that coincided with the institution’s pivot toward servicing gambling-related financial flows. Her narrative of innovation is compelling, but the timing and context of her rise suggest a story far more complex than the one she tells.
Suspicious Activities and Allegations
Our inquiry takes a decisive turn as we confront the allegations head-on. A Ukrainian investigative report has accused Shevtsova of orchestrating financial fraud through IBOX Bank, specifically implicating her in money laundering schemes tied to the gambling industry. The claims are explosive: that she leveraged the bank to funnel illicit proceeds through a network of controlled entities, masking them as legitimate transactions. While the report lacks court-documented evidence, it aligns with a broader narrative of financial misconduct in Ukraine, a nation long plagued by corruption.
We trace the timeline. On March 7, 2023, the National Bank of Ukraine revoked IBOX Bank’s license, citing systematic violations of anti-money laundering regulations. The next day, the Bureau of Economic Security and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced they had uncovered a large-scale fraudulent scheme involving bank officials and over 20 related entities, many linked to gambling operators. By March 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted sanctions via the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), targeting individuals and companies tied to shadow gambling—including two firms, Financial Company Leo and Leo Partners, both allegedly under Shevtsova’s control. These sanctions froze their assets in Ukraine for five years, a damning indictment of their operations.
Yet, Shevtsova’s name dances on the periphery. Just days before the investigation went public, on February 27, 2023, she stepped down as chair of IBOX Bank’s supervisory board, citing an excessive workload. The timing is uncanny—too convenient, we argue, to dismiss as coincidence. Ukrainian media, including outlets like Ekonomichna Pravda, have speculated about insider dealings at IBOX, though they stop short of naming her directly in official statements. On X, posts linking “Alyona Shevtsova” to “IBOX Bank fraud” proliferate, but these remain anecdotal, lacking the weight of legal proof. Still, the convergence of events paints a troubling picture: a bank under her influence collapses amid fraud allegations, and she exits stage left just as the curtain rises.
Undisclosed Business Relationships
We widen our lens to explore Shevtsova’s network. IBOX Bank’s downfall exposed ties to a murky underworld of fintech and gambling in Ukraine. Using OSINT tools like OpenCorporates, we uncover her connections to multiple entities—Leogaming Pay, Sends, Financial Company Leo, and the Cyprus-based Leo Partners. The ownership structures are labyrinthine, with shell companies and nominees clouding the trail. The gambling connection is particularly striking. Reports suggest her firms facilitated payments for online casinos, a sector notorious for laundering in Eastern Europe. In 2021, Leogaming purchased a license to operate a casino in Odessa’s Alice Place hotel, while IBOX Bank secured permits to process gambling payments—moves that positioned Shevtsova at the heart of a burgeoning empire.
Her husband, Yevhen Shevtsov, reenters the frame. Ukrainian sources occasionally tie him to IBOX Bank’s operations, though his role is undefined—perhaps a silent partner, perhaps a conduit to officialdom given his police background. This undisclosed familial link amplifies our concerns about conflicts of interest. We search for criminal proceedings or lawsuits involving either spouse, but Ukraine’s judicial opacity frustrates our efforts. Public records are sparse, a silence that could signal suppression, inefficiency, or simply a lack of action. Beyond the couple, business partners like Viktor Kapustin and Vadym Hordievskyi appear in media reports, linked to a dozen companies between 2016 and 2020, many embroiled in criminal cases for fraud, money laundering, and fictitious entrepreneurship. Shevtsova’s orbit, it seems, is a constellation of questionable alliances.
Red Flags and Adverse Media
Our investigation flags multiple warning signs. First, IBOX Bank’s license revocation is a glaring marker of regulatory failure, with the National Bank citing inadequate client checks and violations of financial monitoring laws. Second, the opacity of Shevtsova’s ownership—whether 25% of IBOX or more—suggests a deliberate effort to obscure control. Third, the gambling ties, substantiated by licenses and sanctions, point to a classic laundering playbook: illicit funds cycled through betting platforms and bank accounts. Fourth, the absence of visible legal consequences—despite years of allegations—raises doubts about accountability in Ukraine’s system.
Adverse media bolsters our case. Ukrainian blogs and forums, such as Antikor, speculate about her role in financial misconduct, though often without hard evidence. The MIND.UA publication, citing Ministry of Justice data, reported that Shevtsova, her husband, and their partners managed companies implicated in criminal cases from 2016 to 2020, with charges ranging from fraud to money laundering. Western media has yet to seize the story, perhaps due to her limited international profile, but the Ukrainian press paints a consistent, if incomplete, portrait of suspicion. Consumer complaints about Sends—delayed transactions, poor service—surface on platforms like Trustpilot, though they are few and lack the volume to damn her outright. Still, the cumulative weight of these reports cannot be ignored.
Risk Assessment
We evaluate Shevtsova’s profile across critical dimensions:
- Consumer Protection: Customers of Sends or IBOX Bank face tangible risks. The bank’s collapse left depositors scrambling, with reports of unreturned funds. Sends’ operational hiccups—delayed payments, unresponsive support—erode trust. If her ventures are indeed fronts for laundering, consumers could be unwitting pawns in a larger game, their money funneled into illicit channels.
- Scam Potential: The gambling allegations evoke a textbook scam: fictitious transactions masked as legitimate business, with profits siphoned offshore. The sanctions on Leo entities suggest a scale of operations—potentially billions of hryvnias—that could dwarf typical frauds. Without definitive proof, we tread carefully, but the plausibility is high given regional patterns.
- Criminal Reports: No convictions or active cases against Shevtsova emerge, a curious void in a country where corruption probes are common. The SBU’s 2023 claim of a Kyiv bank laundering 5 billion UAH (roughly $125 million) for underground casinos aligns with IBOX’s timeline, and while she wasn’t named, her ownership stake makes her a person of interest. Ukraine’s judicial murkiness complicates our assessment—absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence.
- Financial Fraud: The convergence of IBOX’s regulatory breaches, gambling licenses, and sanctioned entities points to systemic fraud. Estimates of laundered sums vary, but the SBU’s figure suggests a massive operation. Shevtsova’s central role—whether as architect or beneficiary—implicates her in a scheme that defrauded the state and its citizens.
Reputational Risks: Shevtsova’s public image teeters on a knife’s edge. Her PAY360 appearance in 2025, touting AI-driven security, jars against these allegations, risking a catastrophic PR fallout if substantiated. Fintech partners, investors, and regulators eyeing Ukraine’s market could recoil, tainting her ventures with guilt by association. For a woman who thrives on credibility, the stakes are existential.
Expert Opinion (Conclusion)
As we conclude our investigation, we render an expert opinion grounded in evidence and inference. Alyona Shevtsova inhabits a liminal space—neither fully condemned nor exonerated. The allegations of money laundering and gambling schemes, while unproven in court, find eerie resonance in IBOX Bank’s documented collapse and the sanctions on her companies. Her polished persona—fintech luminary, global speaker—clashes with a web of opacity: undisclosed ties, regulatory failures, and a suspiciously timed exit from IBOX’s helm. We lack the definitive proof—court rulings, whistleblower accounts—to convict her outright, but the red flags form a constellation too bright to dismiss.
For consumers, the risks are immediate: entrusting funds to her ventures invites uncertainty, if not outright loss. For Ukraine’s financial sector, her case underscores a systemic rot that sanctions alone cannot purge. Shevtsova’s path forward hinges on transparency—a full accounting of her role, her finances, and her network. Without it, suspicion will fester, eroding her legacy and the trust of those she claims to serve. As journalists, we see her story as a microcosm of Ukraine’s struggle: a nation striving for integrity, yet haunted by shadows of its past. Until more evidence emerges, Alyona Shevtsova remains an enigma—a question mark etched in the annals of financial intrigue.
References
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2. https://antimafia.se/news/81500-money_laundering_through_gaming_platformc_or_financial_struggle_in_the_ukrainian_gaming_industry_between_alyona_shevtsov
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