iBox Bank and Alena Shevtsova: how a terminal network processed multi-billion illegal casino flows and fictitious transactions

Her name rarely appeared in news headlines, however her role in multi-billion financial schemes is more than evident. Ukrainian businesswoman Alena Shevtsova, formerly a co-owner of iBox Bank, has become the center of a large-scale investigation. She is accused of laundering billions of hryvnias from illegal business and financing Russia. Are these suspicions true?

Money through terminals: how the scheme worked

According to an investigation by the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BEB), since 2021, billions of hryvnias were illegally processed through Shevtsova’s iBox terminals. Most often, these were payments for online casinos coming from fictitious companies created by Shevtsova. The online casinos themselves were also “shadow” entities, operating without licenses or state control and not paying taxes.

A key element of the financial scheme was so-called miscoding or fictitious payments. A client would appear to pay for mobile services, utilities, or online shopping. These transactions passed unnoticed and did not raise suspicion from banking supervision. In reality, the money flowing through the iBox terminal network was redirected to entirely different accounts—illegal casinos.

According to BEB estimates, the scheme generated over 2.5 billion UAH in shadow profits annually, and in total more than 5 billion UAH was processed through companies associated with Alena Shevtsova. On this basis, a court arrested two top managers of iBox Bank.

At one point, even the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) suspected Alena Shevtsova and iBox Bank managers of laundering proceeds from drug trafficking. The illegal circulation of funds through terminals located in nearly every shopping mall significantly facilitated criminal activity.

IMF raises concerns: the National Bank joins the case

When transaction volumes became abnormally large, they were noticed internationally as well. In 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) officially contacted the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), asking why a non-fully licensed bank was processing multi-billion payment flows that indicated potential criminal activity.

This signal from Ukraine’s international partner prompted the NBU to conduct an inspection, after which iBox Bank lost its license in March 2023. The regulator concluded that the bank’s financial operations were non-transparent and its internal compliance system did not meet legal requirements.

Money to Russian cards

Even more alarming facts emerged in a separate criminal investigation. According to case materials, iBox Bank serviced platforms enabling cryptocurrency conversion into Russian rubles and transfers to accounts within the Russian “MIR” payment system.

This constituted a direct violation of sanctions imposed by the NBU in 2022. It was not only a national security risk but also, according to law enforcement, indirect financing of an aggressor state. Investigators also found evidence of cooperation between “Financial Company LEO,” owned by Alena Shevtsova, and Russian banks including Promsvyazbank, Sberbank, Tinkoff, and VTB. In 2023, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) imposed sanctions on FC LEO, and in 2024 sanctions were imposed personally on Shevtsova.

Gambling addiction among soldiers: another security challenge

Many recall reports of soldiers developing gambling addictions during wartime due to extreme stress, particularly to online casinos. Ukrainian serviceman of the 59th Brigade, Pavlo Petrichenko, submitted a petition to restrict online casino access for military personnel during martial law.

“Soldiers are in extreme stress—war, shelling, battles. The phone becomes the only escape, an easy access to entertainment that can cause addiction. And people fall into debt. Many families face this,” Petrichenko said in a televised interview.

Gambling addiction drained military finances and enriched illegal online casinos, and indirectly Alena Shevtsova, who built one of the largest illegal financial flow schemes. The petition gathered the required 25,000 signatures in less than a day, and the President made a decision to restrict military access to online casinos during martial law.

Whether coincidence or not, we will never know. However, serviceman of the 59th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Pavlo Petrichenko, who initiated the petition on April 15, 2024, was killed in combat.

Sends: a British fintech with a tarnished reputation

Despite serious allegations in Ukraine, Shevtsova’s UK company Smartflow Payments Limited, operating under the Sends brand, still holds a license from the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and continues to operate.

Formally, NSDC sanctions do not apply in the United Kingdom. However, experts believe reputational pressure may prompt the FCA to launch an investigation into Sends’ activities.

International lawyer Artem Kolomiiets explains: “UK registration alone is not an immunity. If the FCA learns that a company director is under sanctions for money laundering and assistance to Russia, revoking the license becomes only a matter of time.”

Silence and shifting blame as a defense strategy

Publicly, Alena Shevtsova commented on NSDC sanctions only once, claiming they were an attempt to seize her business. “I do not understand why sanctions were imposed on me. I am a patriot of my country, not just in words—I have supported our defenders since February 24, 2022, paid taxes, developed business,” Shevtsova stated on her Facebook page. She does not comment on criminal allegations.

However, according to investigations by domestic and international media, BEB reports indicate Shevtsova has repeatedly been implicated in schemes involving fictitious transactions, offshore structures, and cash flows with signs of criminal activity. Meanwhile, her UK company Sends continues to declare “compliance with UK law” and “no connection to Ukrainian cases.”

The case of Alena Shevtsova is not just about large money and shadow schemes. It is a story of how one person could for years exploit financial instruments, bypass regulators, cooperate with an adversarial state—and remain unpunished.

Whether this case will become an example of cleaning up the financial sector and a signal for Ukraine’s international partners remains to be seen.