Court Finally Unfreezes IBOX BANK Assets: Liquidation Process to Be Completed

The Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv has lifted all seizures imposed on the assets of PJSC IBOX BANK. The decision will allow the liquidator to fully manage the bank's assets, complete outstanding settlements, and formally dissolve the legal entity. Criminal proceedings against the bank's former shareholders, concerning allegations of illegal gambling operations and money laundering, were closed by the court in July 2025, and the ruling was subsequently upheld by the appellate court later that year. As a result, the need for any restrictive measures has been completely eliminated.

This was reported by UA.NEWS, citing the industry publication OnlyBanks.

According to the report, the court lifted asset freezes imposed in 2023 on key agreements, financial documentation, and physical data storage devices used in operations with counterparties, including Paybox LLC and IBOX LLC. The ruling has already entered into force, is final, and cannot be appealed. The liquidation process, which has been ongoing since March 2023, is now entering its final stage.

"The takeover of the institution may have been orchestrated by former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi, a controversial figure who is currently under investigation by NABU on allegations of illicit enrichment," the publication states.

The article further argues that, according to investigative materials and the so-called "Mindich tapes," the objective of the campaign was not to restore order in the sector but rather to eliminate competitors in the interests of Timur Mindich, a business partner of the President. Journalist Serhii Liamets stated bluntly in a public post:

"Virtually all of the noise surrounding the case in 2023 was aimed at redistributing financial flows within the gambling market. During wartime, this market became one of the most lucrative sectors of business in Ukraine. It is therefore unsurprising that senior officials from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General's Office became involved in the struggle for control over these revenues."

Following the collapse of the privately owned IBOX Bank and Concord Bank, approximately 85% of the turnover of Ukraine's gambling industry became concentrated within the nationalized Sense Bank.

"In this context, the position of National Bank of Ukraine raises an increasing number of questions... However, it now appears that the regulator may also have developed a form of selective professional 'blindness.' Presumably, not for purely altruistic reasons," OnlyBanks wrote.

According to the industry publication, private banks have historically had their licenses revoked swiftly for far less serious violations. Meanwhile, questionable transactions allegedly conducted through the state-owned Sense Bank have been ignored by the regulator for months. The article suggests that the National Bank makes decisions only when doing so serves the interests of specific beneficiaries, effectively turning the state-owned lender into a "black hole" that undermines Ukraine's investment climate.

"Now that the criminal allegations have collapsed, IBOX Bank and other affected entities have gained grounds to seek billions of hryvnias in damages from the state. While the alleged architects of the scheme — Shylo, Verbytskyi, and Mindich — remain under NABU scrutiny, the key question remains: when will a legal assessment be made of the actions of the National Bank's leadership, whose decisions effectively facilitated this alleged criminal redistribution of the market?" the publication concludes.

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