BEB officially reveals the names of suspects in the Ibox Bank case
26 March 2025, 21.41
The pre-trial investigation into Olena Shevtsova, co-owner of Ibox Bank, and her former colleagues has been completed. The defense and the suspects must now review the case materials before it is submitted to court. The Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) has officially informed the wanted individuals via a special announcement on its website.
Alongside Shevtsova, Iryna Tsyganok and Zoya Nesterovska have been summoned to the Territorial Department of the BEB in the Lviv region to receive official notification of the investigation’s completion and to review the case materials.
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Investigators have uncovered a money laundering scheme involving "miscoding," which allegedly enabled the suspects to funnel approximately UAH 5 billion through illegal online casinos.
"During the pre-trial investigation, BEB detectives charged senior bank officials with suspicion. The case materials concerning the scheme's organizer and her two accomplices have been separated into a distinct criminal proceeding under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Article 203-2, 'Illegal activities in organizing or conducting gambling and lotteries,' and Article 209, 'Legalization (laundering) of proceeds obtained through crime,'" the BEB stated.
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Context
- According to Forbes, in 2022, Shevtsova's gambling schemes helped push Ibox Bank into the top ten most profitable Ukrainian financial institutions. In 2023, the bank was stripped of its license, and the National Security and Defense Council added Ukrainian financial company LEO, Cypriot LeoPartners, and British Electronic Payment Solutions Ltd, all of which belonged to Shevtsova, to the sanctions list.
- During 2023, the NBU decided to liquidate JSC "Ibox Bank" and JSC "JCB "Concord". The regulator justified the decision by the systematic violation by these banks of the requirements of the legislation in the field of prevention and counteraction to the legalization of proceeds from crime, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In order to implement this decision, the Deposit Guarantee Fund, in accordance with the norms of the law on the deposit guarantee system of individuals, began the procedure for liquidating these banks. In December 2023, the institution reported the transfer of UAH 550 million to the state budget of JSC "Ibox Bank" at the request of the State Tax Service, which conducted an audit of the bank's activities for the period before the start of its liquidation.
- On March 13, the Lychakivskyi District Court of Lviv authorized a special pre-trial investigation, allowing procedural actions to proceed even if suspects are evading law enforcement. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, only 435 special investigations were initiated in January and February, while the SBU, National Police, State Bureau of Investigation, and BEB handled more than 1.5 million criminal cases during this period.
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