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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In April 2025, the President of Ukraine approved ten-year sanctions against the former owner of Aibox bank, Alyona Shevtsova. The restrictions involve asset freezes, bans on conducting trading operations, and prevention of capital transfers out of Ukraine. Journalists found that the ex-banker was effectively unaffected by the sanctions. Shevtsova is living her best life in Dubai, running businesses in the UAE and developing a British company in the electronic payments sector.
In spring 2025, the Economic Security Bureau initiated a special pretrial investigation into the case of Aibox bank owner Alyona Shevtsova. The case concerns laundering 5 billion hryvnias for illegal casinos through a scheme using “miscoding.” Law enforcement emphasized that the suspect’s lawyers are delaying the investigation by all means so she could avoid being held accountable.
The ironic part is that the husband of the sanctioned businesswoman—Yevheniy Shevtsov—continued to work at the National Police of Ukraine until March 2026. He dutifully declared the assets of his wife, who is wanted, including those abroad, although he did not specify the amounts of income Shevtsova receives from foreign companies. And there are, meanwhile, quite a few.
At least since 2023, Alyona Shevtsova has been living in Dubai with her children. In the UAE the woman has four registered companies. Two of them are beauty salons. The most promoted is Leo beauty club, located in the five-star Kempinski hotel on The Palm Jumeirah island. The salon opened in 2023. It is promoted by other well-known Ukrainian women living in Dubai, in particular former TV host Vasylysa Frolova and influencer Santa Dimopulos.
The salon targets Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking clients, and some of its employees don’t even speak English. Recently the venue hosted a “beauty breakfast,” where cosmetologists and other staff shared beauty secrets in Russian.
In one of the salon’s reviews a client complains about terrible service and warns that the place is rather dubious. Moreover, the woman suspects the establishment may be a cover for another business.
Shevtsova opened another beauty salon in central Dubai. However, the Le boudoir beauty salon page was last updated back in 2023, so it’s unlikely to be considered popular.
Her husband’s declaration also shows that Shevtsova has two other firms in Dubai—LEO Ventures FZCO and Eclatant&CO Trading CO. L.L.C. The first is located in a free economic zone, meaning it can operate tax-free. Judging by the names, these companies are engaged in trading.
Alyona Shevtsova lives in Dubai in a villa of 622 square meters. Her husband did not indicate how much the rent for such a house costs in the declaration. But analyzing prices on local real estate sites shows that on average renting a house of that size in a good area can cost 100-300 thousand dollars per year, depending on the presence of a pool, furniture, etc. Note that this is a rather basic price in a good location, but without luxury extras.
Alyona Shevtsova’s eldest son Lev noted on his social media pages that he graduated in 2025 from the private Duke of York’s Royal Military School in London.
A semester at that educational institution costs 7700 pounds sterling, or more than 23 thousand pounds per year. Recall that in Ukraine Alyona Shevtsova is under sanctions and is prohibited from disposing of assets and transferring funds abroad. Nevertheless, she still found hundreds of thousands of dollars for renting a house in Dubai and for expensive schooling for her children.
Lev Shevtsov noted on Facebook that he lives in Dubai, but in September 2024 he started working for the London company Sends.co, which deals with electronic payments. This is his mother Alyona Shevtsova’s firm, registered in the United Kingdom.
The company is not new; it was founded back in 2017. Initially the firm was called Electronic payment solutions LTD, and in 2023 it was renamed Smartflow payments limited. The founders were two Russian citizens—Sergey Baymakov and Mikhail Ponomarev. The Russians remained among the company’s shareholders until March 2023, when Alyona Shevtsova joined the company.
According to the London registry, in 2017 the company’s authorized capital was 400 000 euros. But in 2022 it sharply increased to 1,6 million euros. During this period the company’s shareholders partially changed as well.
Documents show that as of 31 December 2022 the shareholders of Electronic payment solutions LTD were Elena Sosedka and Yulia Sosedka, each owning 50% of the company’s shares. These are the same sisters who ran schemes in their founded Concord Bank in Ukraine. The institution’s operations were accompanied by scandals related to suspected tax evasion and ties to the gambling business. A very similar story occurred with Alyona Shevtsova’s bank Aibox, which also had ties to the Sosedka sisters’ banking structure.
Under Sanctions and Wanted, Banker Alyona Shevtsova Spends Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Dubai and Continues Opening Businesses in the United Kingdom
In April 2025, the President of Ukraine approved ten-year sanctions against the former owner of Aibox bank, Alyona Shevtsova. The restrictions involve asset freezes, bans on conducting trading operations, and prevention of capital transfers out of Ukraine. Journalists found that the ex-banker was effectively unaffected by the sanctions. Shevtsova is living her best life in Dubai, running businesses in the UAE and developing a British company in the electronic payments sector.
In spring 2025, the Economic Security Bureau initiated a special pretrial investigation into the case of Aibox bank owner Alyona Shevtsova. The case concerns laundering 5 billion hryvnias for illegal casinos through a scheme using “miscoding.” Law enforcement emphasized that the suspect’s lawyers are delaying the investigation by all means so she could avoid being held accountable.
The ironic part is that the husband of the sanctioned businesswoman—Yevheniy Shevtsov—continued to work at the National Police of Ukraine until March 2026. He dutifully declared the assets of his wife, who is wanted, including those abroad, although he did not specify the amounts of income Shevtsova receives from foreign companies. And there are, meanwhile, quite a few.
At least since 2023, Alyona Shevtsova has been living in Dubai with her children. In the UAE the woman has four registered companies. Two of them are beauty salons. The most promoted is Leo beauty club, located in the five-star Kempinski hotel on The Palm Jumeirah island. The salon opened in 2023. It is promoted by other well-known Ukrainian women living in Dubai, in particular former TV host Vasylysa Frolova and influencer Santa Dimopulos.
The salon targets Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking clients, and some of its employees don’t even speak English. Recently the venue hosted a “beauty breakfast,” where cosmetologists and other staff shared beauty secrets in Russian.
In one of the salon’s reviews a client complains about terrible service and warns that the place is rather dubious. Moreover, the woman suspects the establishment may be a cover for another business.
Shevtsova opened another beauty salon in central Dubai. However, the Le boudoir beauty salon page was last updated back in 2023, so it’s unlikely to be considered popular.
Her husband’s declaration also shows that Shevtsova has two other firms in Dubai—LEO Ventures FZCO and Eclatant&CO Trading CO. L.L.C. The first is located in a free economic zone, meaning it can operate tax-free. Judging by the names, these companies are engaged in trading.
Alyona Shevtsova lives in Dubai in a villa of 622 square meters. Her husband did not indicate how much the rent for such a house costs in the declaration. But analyzing prices on local real estate sites shows that on average renting a house of that size in a good area can cost 100-300 thousand dollars per year, depending on the presence of a pool, furniture, etc. Note that this is a rather basic price in a good location, but without luxury extras.
Alyona Shevtsova’s eldest son Lev noted on his social media pages that he graduated in 2025 from the private Duke of York’s Royal Military School in London.
A semester at that educational institution costs 7700 pounds sterling, or more than 23 thousand pounds per year. Recall that in Ukraine Alyona Shevtsova is under sanctions and is prohibited from disposing of assets and transferring funds abroad. Nevertheless, she still found hundreds of thousands of dollars for renting a house in Dubai and for expensive schooling for her children.
Lev Shevtsov noted on Facebook that he lives in Dubai, but in September 2024 he started working for the London company Sends.co, which deals with electronic payments. This is his mother Alyona Shevtsova’s firm, registered in the United Kingdom.
The company is not new; it was founded back in 2017. Initially the firm was called Electronic payment solutions LTD, and in 2023 it was renamed Smartflow payments limited. The founders were two Russian citizens—Sergey Baymakov and Mikhail Ponomarev. The Russians remained among the company’s shareholders until March 2023, when Alyona Shevtsova joined the company.
According to the London registry, in 2017 the company’s authorized capital was 400 000 euros. But in 2022 it sharply increased to 1,6 million euros. During this period the company’s shareholders partially changed as well.
Documents show that as of 31 December 2022 the shareholders of Electronic payment solutions LTD were Elena Sosedka and Yulia Sosedka, each owning 50% of the company’s shares. These are the same sisters who ran schemes in their founded Concord Bank in Ukraine. The institution’s operations were accompanied by scandals related to suspected tax evasion and ties to the gambling business. A very similar story occurred with Alyona Shevtsova’s bank Aibox, which also had ties to the Sosedka sisters’ banking structure.
An extract from the British company Electronic payment solutions LTD shows that from the connected parties Elena Sosedka and Alyona Shevtsova during 2022 the firm received 80 000 euros and 40 000 euros of unsecured loans due in 2023. Moreover, while Sosedka provided funds interest-free, Shevtsova was supposed to return her money with a 2% markup.
Documents also note that as of 31 December 2022 the ultimate controlling party of the company was Alyona Shevtsova by virtue of her share in the equity capital.
The powers of the Russian Baymakov as a company director were terminated in May 2022, whereas his Russian partner Ponomarev was removed only in March 2023, by which time the company was already managed by Alyona Shevtsova.
In February 2026, Alyona Shevtsova opened another company in London—Odessys tech LTD. The name was apparently chosen in honor of the city Odesa, where the woman was born. The company operates in the information technology sector. Shevtsova is its sole founder. The documents also state that although she is a Ukrainian citizen, she holds Polish residency.
And that is despite the fact that Shevtsova actually lives in Dubai with her children, where she also has residency. The woman’s middle son Nikita attends a local mental arithmetic club taught by Russian-speaking teachers. This further confirms that Dubai is Shevtsova’s permanent place of residence.
While Ukrainian law enforcement searches for Alyona Shevtsova and investigates the legalization of 5 billion hryvnias for the gaming mafia, the woman continues to enjoy life. She leads a socialite lifestyle, opens salons and businesses, and apparently does not feel the effects of the sanctions imposed in Ukraine at all.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Под санкциями и объявленная в розыск банкир Алёна Шевцова тратит сотни тысяч долларов в Дубае и продолжает открывать бизнесы в Великобритании". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: DosieNews.Info.
