Ukraine Sanctions IBOX’s Shevtsova Following ‘Online Casino Money Laundering Probe’

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has approved sanctions on Alyona Shevtsova, the former supervisory head of IBOX Bank, a month after she was accused of laundering money from online casinos via “fake companies.”

The sanctions declaration was published on April 12. The sanctions, the document notes, are effective for 10 years.

They call for Shevtsova’s assets to be frozen or blocked. The sanctions also prevent her from making most types of financial transactions or moving her money across international borders.

Shevtsova: Sanctioned for 10 Years

The sanctions also call on regulators in “the European Union, the United States of America, and other states” to enforce similar “restrictions.”

Shevtsova was sanctioned along with the former Chairman of the Central Bank Serhiy Arbuzov. The former lawmaker Serhiy Klyuyev and the business mogul Viktor Polischuk were also sanctioned.

The move comes around a month after a court in Lviv reportedly granted the Ukrainian Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) permission to launch a pre-trial investigation into Shevtsova.

The BEB suspects Shevtsova of operating illegal gambling businesses, money laundering, and attempting to “legalize” criminal proceeds.

Legal Battles Ongoing

Shevtsova rose to fame in Ukraine in the mid-2010s as the founder of Leogaming Pay. Loegaming was a digital pay platform created to meet the needs of online gaming firms.

She succeeded in registering an affiliated platform with the country’s central bank in 2017. She later took up an executive position with IBOX Bank.

Shevtsova is also widely believed to have bought a stake in the bank, making her IBOX’s “co-owner.”

At the helm, Shevtsova then steered IBOX in a new direction, targeting growth in the licensed casino and online retail sectors.

The government of Ukraine legalized the gambling industry in 2020. In 2021, KRAIL, the national gambling and lotteries regulator, granted IBOX permission to process transactions for permit-holding gaming operators.

However, in 2021, Leogaming was hit with a fine for failing to provide the central bank with “reliable” data on its financial transactions .

IBOX was hit with a similar fine the same year. By 2023, issues had mounted to a critical level, and the central bank withdrew IBOX’s banking license.

The central bank claimed that it had acted in response to “multiple violations.” These allegedly included providing “aid to the organizers of a sports poker tournament.”

It also claimed that IBOX had failed to enforce adequate financial monitoring of its clients, even after receiving warnings.

Shevtsova has attempted to fight the legal cases launched against her in the courts.

A ‘Fait Accompli’

On Facebook, the prominent Ukrainian journalist Serhiy Lyamets wrote that his “sources” claimed that the sanctions had been introduced “in violation of existing legal protocols.”

He claimed that an interdepartmental group on the implementation of sanctions policy had not signed off on the sanctions, despite “legal stipulations.”

Instead, Lyamets noted, the verdict was delivered as a “fait accompli.”

The journalist claimed that in his “option,” the “advancement” of Shevtsova’s legal cases were the main reason why the authorities had decided to push for sanctions.

In January this year, Ukrainian police reported they had raided a live casino studio, where they arrested 120 people. The arrestees were accused of running an illegal online gambling platform.

Officers seized 60 gaming tables. They also confiscated cards and dice, as well as servers and other computer hardware.

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 Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has approved sanctions on Alyona Shevtsova, the former supervisory head of IBOX Bank, a month after she was accused of laundering money from online casinos via “fake companies.” The sanctions declaration was published on April 12. The sanctions, the document notes, are effective for 10 years. They call for Shevtsova’s assets
The post Ukraine Sanctions IBOX’s Shevtsova Following ‘Online Casino Money Laundering Probe’ appeared first on CasinoBeats.