Journalist Lyubov Velychko says she has faced pressure from Ibox Bank lawyers after taking photos, audio and video recordings during a hearing in the case concerning the bank’s co-owner Alyona Shevtsova. She has received demands not to publish the material, Velychko reported in a Facebook post and commented to Detector Media.
The Kyiv Court of Appeal closed the proceedings in the case against Ibox Bank co-owner Alyona Shevtsova and two former managers, Iryna Tsyhaniuk and Zoya Nesterovska, 2 October 2025. The three were charged with organising illegal gambling and laundering 5 billion hryvnias.
The court ruled to close the case due to the statute of limitations for the pre-trial investigation having expired since the suspicion notices were served. Velychko, who took pictures of the hearing and recorded it on audio and video, reported facing pressure attempts by Shevtsova’s lawyers.
In a letter that the journalist shared with the news outlet, lawyer Anton Honcharuk demanded that Velychko immediately cease using any photo or video material depicting Alyona Shevtsova and her lawyers, Artem Svytko and Andriy Davydchenko.
He asked not to publish or distribute any material (articles, photos, videos or social media posts) made during the 2 October hearing. The letter also contained a demand to remove the material depicting the aforementioned individuals from the websites owned by LLC Future Media, Mind.ua and other platforms if they have already been published there.
The lawyer cited Article 308 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (the right to an image of a natural person), as well as Articles 23 (the right to free development of a person) and 32 (inviolability of privacy) of the Constitution of Ukraine.
In turn, Lyubov Velychko said that if a hearing was not held in camera and there was no decision to ban photography and filming, a journalist has the right to film it.
“A person’s consent to the public display of their image is assumed if the filming is done in public places or during public events. A court hearing is a typical example of a public event wherein a person is consciously taking part in public activity,” she wrote on Facebook.
At the same time, the journalist told the news outlet that she had submitted a request to participate in the hearing as a Future Media LLC (Mind.ua) representative.
“I sent them a letter saying that I was working on a journalist investigation featuring the individuals and companies involved in the trial. And I warned that I would be taking photos and videos of the hearing, since it was public. During the hearing, the lawyers objected to my taking photos and videos, alleging that I had not provided them with any contract proving that I was working for this specific media outlet. But the judges decided not to bar me from taking photos and videos, so I have documented the entire hearing,” said Velychko.
The journalist believes that by forbidding her to release this material the lawyers are trying to put psychological pressure on her so that she does not report on topics related to Alyona Shevtsova in the future.
“It seems to me that by publicly speaking out about this I am already letting them know that I will not be silent about such actions on their part. Perhaps they are trying to intimidate me and psychologically pressure me so that I do not touch any topics related to their client at all. Besides, five years ago she (Alyona Shevtsova. — Ed.) tried to sue me for my investigation into money laundering and acquiring schemes. But she later withdrew her lawsuit against me from the Brovary City District Court, changed her mind about suing me,” said Velychko.
The journalist adds that she did not expect that the lawyers would prohibit her from publishing information, photos, and videos from an open court hearing.
“Speaking in terms of Ukrainian law, this is a completely illegal demand. I don’t understand whether they realise it or not, but I am inclined to think that they do, which is why I consider it psychological pressure. Because they have no prospects from the legal point of view to ban me from taking photos and videos. Even if they take it to court, no Ukrainian court will be able to rule that I violated any articles of Ukrainian law, because I act exclusively within the framework of the law and the Constitution of Ukraine,” said Velychko.
The Bureau of Economic Security previously reported that Alyona Shevtsova, Iryna Tsyhaniuk, and Zoya Nesterovska are hiding abroad and are wanted.
“Since the Kyiv Court of Appeal has ruled to close the case, this essentially means that all search for them should be suspended until another court of cassation passes a ruling, which, I hope, will happen in the near future,” said Lyubov Velychko.
Previously
Lyubov Velychko reported on 27 October 2020 that she had received threats following her investigation “Working for Russia, Offshores, and ‘Wholesale Computers’: Online Casinos Working in Ukraine”, which featured Alyona Shevtsova’s company.
Alyona Shevtsova wiled a UAH 1 million defamation lawsuit against Lyubov Velychko and LLC Future Media (Mind.ua). The first hearing in the case was scheduled in the Brovary District Court of Kyiv oblast on 9 February 2021.
On 30 July 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed Alyona Shevtsova’s claim and upheld the ruling by the Kyiv City Court of Appeal in the lawsuit against Mind’s publisher, LLC Future Media. The Court of Appeal found, and the Supreme Court confirmed, that most of the information reported by Mind did not concern the plaintiff and, accordingly, did not violate her personal non-property rights; some of the information was value judgments that could be refuted on account of being the author’s subjective opinions, not facts, and the remaining information was confirmed true by the written evidence available in the case.