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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
16–17 September at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai, the Middle East Banking Innovation Summit is taking place, where Alona Shevtsova is presenting as the CEO of the British fintech company Sends and moderating a panel on payment innovations. In Ukraine, this same Shevtsova figures in the BEE (Bureau of Economic Security) case on the probable laundering of about 5 billion UAH for illegal online casinos, she is wanted internationally, and a criminal proceeding against her in July 2025 was referred to court.
On the Dubai stage, Shevtsova’s biography appears noticeably shorter. Official MEBIS program presents her as Chief Executive Officer of Sends, a British fintech company that works with payment solutions for B2B and B2C. Panel participants include representatives from RAKBANK, BankDhofar, Al Fardan Exchange, First Abu Dhabi Bank, BANK NXT, and IBM. The focus of the discussion is instant payments, digital wallets, cross-border transfers, and payment infrastructure. The event site does not mention the Ukrainian criminal case against Shevtsova. Instead, her professional profile begins with LEO—the Ukrainian payment system she, according to organizers, founded and developed for over ten years. The biography then continues through the banking sector, international finance, and since 2024 the leadership of Sends. This is the version of the professional biography that participants at the Middle East banking forum receive today. The Ukrainian angle is much more complex. According to the BEE, Shevtsova was a co-owner of IBOX Bank, and investigators consider her the organizer of a scheme using “money mules.” Detectives stated that more than 20 controlled companies were created through which client payments of illegal online casinos passed. In the payment destination, supposedly, nonexistent goods or services were listed, while funds were actually used to top up gaming accounts. The BEE estimates the volume of such operations at about 5 billion UAH. In Shevtsova’s case and two other involved individuals, charges under articles 203-2 of the Criminal Code regarding illegal activities related to organizing or conducting gambling and article 209 on legalization of property obtained by criminal means have been brought. The BEE reported that suspects are abroad and have been put on international wanted list. Lychakivskyi District Court of Lviv allowed a special pre-trial investigation. In July 2025 year the BEE stated that the special investigation was completed and the indictment was sent to court. Thus, at the time of Shevtsova’s current participation in the Dubai forum, the Ukrainian case was no longer at the stage of initial review or discussion of the suspicion—according to the BEE, the case materials have been sent to court. Yet only the court can render a final guilt. This is explicitly stated in the BEE’s releases as well. Another element of the Ukrainian proceedings was sanctions. 12 April 2025 year the president activated a decision of the NSDC on personal sanctions against Shevtsova for 10 years. The BEE said the sanctions include, among other things, asset freezing and restrictions on economic activity in Ukraine. Before that, IBOX Bank lost its license. In March 2023 year the National Bank decided to revoke the bank’s license and liquidate the institution. For the Ukrainian part of the story, this is a fundamental detail: a business that abroad is currently presented through an international fintech brand and discussions about compliance is connected in Ukraine with a bank that ceased operations after the regulator’s decision, and with a criminal case concerning payment operations. Against this background, the Dubai panel’s topic is particularly telling. Sends states that Shevtsova will speak about real-time payments, digital wallets, cross-border payment rails, and regulatory infrastructure. The company also emphasizes its focus on AML, KYC, security, and regulatory compliance. In March 2026 year Shevtsova participated in PAY360 in London specifically in a discussion about using AI for AML and KYC. Sends officially operates under the brand Smartflow Payments Limited. The company’s site notes that Smartflow Payments Limited is registered in the United Kingdom and authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations and the Payment Services Regulations. In international circles, this creates for Shevtsova the image of a head of a regulated British fintech, the media write. In Sends’ own materials, Shevtsova regularly speaks at international financial events. The company reports her participation in PAY360, events in Saudi Arabia, and other fintech events where topics included regulation, risk, artificial intelligence, and cross-border payments. In July the company described the first half 2026 year as a period of active international development and separately highlighted ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certification.
Thus, in Dubai Shevtsova is today presented to bankers as the head of a British fintech who talks about safe and transparent payments. In Ukrainian materials, the BEE portrays her as a figure in a case about probable “money laundering” of about 5 billion UAH, for which a special investigation has been completed, an international arrest warrant has been issued, sanctions have been imposed, and the proceedings have been referred to court. These two public images exist in parallel, though legally they pertain to the same person.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Альона Шевцова: у Дубаї — фінтех-CEO, в Україні — у розшуку". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Fraza.
