After sanctions were imposed by the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) on Alyona Shevtsova, the owner of Ibox Bank, a massive media storm erupted. The initiative, undoubtedly, comes from Shevtsova herself, as the majority of the materials aim to portray her in a favorable light and argue that the sanctions were imposed incorrectly.
But behind this massive flow of materials, which either play on sympathy — pointing out Alyona Shevtsova has five children and that the president, by signing the sanctions, “offends orphans”; or claim that all accusations are fabricated — suggesting “Comrade Zelenskyy, a grand mistake has occurred,” lies something much more than meets the eye.
The reaction is entirely expected. However, on the other hand, it raises questions for keen observers that the media noise aimed at clearing Shevtsova’s reputation (née Dehrik) started after the sanctions were imposed, with a chaotic and evidently panicked tone. It creates the impression that, upon learning the president signed the sanctions list with her name on it, Alyona Shevtsova was shocked — clearly not expecting such “treachery.” The word “treachery” perhaps best describes what happened. Because Shevtsova had arrangements at the highest levels that there would be no sanctions. But she was either betrayed or they couldn’t help her.
Alyona Shevtsova had long known that everything was moving toward an inevitable collapse. This became clear when Shevtsova’s other company, LLC "Financial Company Leo," fell under NSDC sanctions. This happened in March 2023. That’s when Shevtsova moved to the United Arab Emirates, where she resides with her "unfortunate orphans" in a modest home of 622 square meters. At least, that’s according to the declaration from her husband, Yevhen Shevtsov, head of a department in the National Police of Ukraine’s Department for the Protection of State and Public Interests.
Yevhen Shevtsov’s position in the National Police only adds a surreal aspect to the situation, as he and his wife have been involved in multiple scandals, some related to managing financial flows from the occupied part of Ukraine and transferring money to Russia. At least, that follows from the criminal case materials initiated by the Security Service of Ukraine regarding the international payment system "Leo," which facilitated these transactions. Specifically, it was for dealing with Russia that LLC "Financial Company Leo" fell under sanctions in 2023. Yet for some reason, Yevhen Shevtsov, the husband of our heroine and a faithful accomplice in several other criminal cases concerning the couple — the financier and the police officer — did not suffer from these sanctions, but in this instance, we are more interested in Alyona Shevtsova’s behavior.
There were, of course, some commissioned pieces that also talked about a mistake and Alyona Shevtsova’s non-involvement in working with the occupied territories and Russia, but everything was rather quiet. Apparently, this is because the “Leo” payment system had already been a worked-over topic, and the sanctions hardly affected Alyona Shevtsova. Nor did they impact her husband, as we recall once more.
But when the Bureau of Economic Security and Security Service of Ukraine took up Ibox Bank, where Alyona Shevtsova was a co-owner and chairperson, she became much more agitated. Regarding Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi, who signed the suspicion against Alyona Shevtsova over servicing illegal gambling business and laundering over five billion UAH, Shevtsova even developed a whole special operation to discredit him. According to her version, Dmytro Verbytskyi received free services at the Leo Beauty Club Lypkivskogo in the capital, owned by Olena Shevtsova, mother of Yevhen Shevtsov. The operation failed, Ibox Bank subsequently lost its license and faced money laundering and misconduct charges. And Shevtsova fled to the Emirates.
Interestingly, a few days before losing its license, Ibox Bank refunded two large deposits to individuals: Shevtsova withdrew 175 million UAH, and Ihor Kolomoiskyi took 125 million UAH. Why Ihor Kolomoiskyi kept his money in Ibox Bank is still unknown, as he has not commented on this fact.
Although the media campaign regarding the loss of Ibox Bank’s license in March 2023 was rather noticeable, it wasn’t all that significant. The noise rose, and then it was forgotten. Alyona Dehrik-Shevtsova limited her response to standard comments, which boiled down to "a grand mistake occurred,” nothing more. Especially since no investigations were conducted regarding her other businesses. Perhaps that’s why she remained silent.
Perhaps Alyona Shevtsova’s silence is due to other reasons — after fleeing Ukraine, she engaged in business in the EU and UK. Notably, no one searched for her — neither the Bureau of Economic Security nor the Security Service of Ukraine showed interest in Alyona Shevtsova, who was involved in high-profile criminal cases and left Ukraine without hindrance. Nor were they interested in her husband Yevhen Shevtsov, the wealthiest employee of the National Police of Ukraine, who continued his duties “safeguarding the state’s and public’s interests” in the relevant NPU department head position.
But let’s return to Alyona Shevtsova and her strange behavior after LLC “Financial Company Leo” fell under sanctions and Ibox Bank was liquidated. Although these two events caused a lot of commotion in Ukraine, Alyona Shevtsova didn’t go to great lengths to clear her reputation. Two years passed, and suddenly — an informational explosion. Everyone who could rushed to defend Alyona Shevtsova. Everything is utilized — from sympathy pressure to accusing the state of trying to raid Alyona Shevtsova’s business.
Thus, the atypical behavior of Alyona Shevtsova over the last two years stands out. The state “kills” the “Leo” payment system — Shevtsova remains silent. NSDC imposes sanctions on LLC "Financial Company Leo" — Shevtsova remains silent. Ibox Bank loses its license — Shevtsova remains silent.
And then Alyona Shevtsova herself suddenly finds herself on the sanctions lists. And then comes the explosion. An emotional explosion in the media space. Clearly chaotic and uncoordinated — although every possible resource is packed with attempts to portray Alyona Shevtsova as a "regime victim," it’s evident that this campaign was unprepared. It follows that Alyona Shevtsova wasn’t ready for such a turn of events. She should have been aware of movements around her. But the fact that all these movements led to sanctions was clearly an unpleasant surprise for Alyona Shevtsova.
This surprise is doubly unpleasant as it might disrupt all the financial schemes constructed by Alyona Shevtsova in the EU and UK, where she has actively and vigorously tried to build her image as an expert in AI and fintech security over the past two years. Shortly before the sanctions were imposed, Alyona Shevtsova spoke at the international PAY360 conference in London with representatives from Uber and Monzo, where she announced her new European project, based on the same "Leo."
But something went wrong — on April 12, personal sanctions were imposed on Alyona Shevtsova by the NSDC. These sanctions are not obligatory for foreign countries. However, they cause significant reputational damage. Following the reputational fallout, the willingness to cooperate with a person on the sanctions list drops. Especially when it comes to finances, something Alyona Shevtsova understands well. Hence the hysterical reaction.
Yet there are inconsistencies in this whole story. Who are the people who guaranteed Shevtsova’s immunity? After all, let’s recall, no one is searching for her, despite open criminal cases and accusations of collaboration with the aggressor country. Moreover — until 2023, until the leadership change in the National Bank, Ibox Bank got away with warnings, even though IMF representatives reached out to NBU in 2022 with information that Ibox Bank handled anomalously large funds, and had a huge volume of opaque transactions. But no questions have yet been raised by the Bureau of Economic Security or the Security Service of Ukraine towards the former NBU leadership on this matter.
Furthermore, as we remember, the gambling market in Ukraine was legalized only in 2020. But Alyona Dehrik-Shevtsova’s payment systems had been servicing online casino transactions since at least 2013. However, even after 2020, when a struggle for this vast financial market began, Alyona Shevtsova’s “Leo” payment system continued to operate. It wasn’t until 2023 that she was pushed out of this market, and soon after, Ibox Bank was liquidated. Additionally, Alyona Shevtsova was allowed not just to leave the country but also to take money with her. And her other business wasn’t touched.
Thus, the question — who covered for Alyona Shevtsova all these years, who guaranteed immunity from sanctions, who participated in Shevtsova’s new business in Europe — remains open. It was hardly her husband, despite his reasonably high position in the police. It’s not his level.
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