When the bank shut her out, Lyudmyla Kozlovska continued anyway.
She grew up in Sevastopol, Crimea. As a teenager, her family faced political persecution. A stranger appeared to help.
When she asked why, the answer stuck to life: “Because your family has done a lot of good things and others have asked us to come.” That moment set her on the path to protecting those crushed by bad governments by launching the Open Dialogue Foundation.
A few years later, after working on the Ukrainian Orange Revolution and the transfer of her PhD to Poland, she founded an organization and crossed Ukraine, Central Asia, Russia, Moldova, Belarus and the EU. The idea was simple. If your neighbor is in war, you have no peace in your home.
Then came the hits.
The playbook they used on her
Kozlovska calls it cross-border financial suppression. Authoritarian regimes use international agreements, AML and counterterrorism regulations, travel databases, and cyber laws to flag people as threats and separate them from money. In 2018, she lived it.
“Even with all the connections in European Parliament, we were unable to protect our financial data.” She said. “They armed money laundering and counter-terrorism regulations to label me as a security threat without legal grounds, just for my human rights work.”
The outcome was ugly. “My family, my organization, my organization, my company, my donors, partners, even our cleaning lady. Everyone around us has been financially removed from Western institutions.” When the bank pulls the plug, everything stops. Salary. rent. Legal help. Humanitarian assistance.
So she reached for the only tool within reach.
Why Bitcoin
“There were no other tools.” Kozlovska said. “What you’re holding is Bitcoin. Peer-to-peer.”
That was the entry point. There is no exchange account. There is no gate to plead. You can directly reconcile and protect money.
Bitcoin in self-detention meant that she could move aid to political prisoners, refugees and family members still running. That meant that donors could still help, without waiting for the compliance departments of other countries to feel brave that week.
At the time, it was easier to find a local trader in Europe. Today, she treats many of the self-custodial Bitcoin as suspicious when EU rules touch on regulated institutions.
Belgium has passed bank account rights, but Global Banks still follow fatf beginning. If a Belgian bank wants to maintain a global license, it follows Washington standards.
That’s why so many of her defenses now refer to America.
Why America Is Important
“The United States is a key jurisdiction that sets standards for financial regulations, privacy, travel data privacy, communications data and cybersecurity.” Kozlovska said. Label privacy tools as criminals and kill investments.
Killing investments will lose the skill of freedom that keeps people alive when the regime knocks.
Her group helped launch a building’s true change coalition to explain exactly how Bitcoin supports human rights and rapid humanitarian assistance.
They push back the rules that punish donors they want to help. They teach the difference between target police and surveillance, treating all citizens like suspects.
She is dull about her interests. “Currently, due to the speed of technology, we have nothing to discuss in five years unless we build privacy protection tools.”
The parts that most people miss
Many citizens of a safe country assume this will never touch on. Kozlovska shook her head.
There are quiet tools that never make news. She mentions Interpol’s purple notifications and cross-border data requests.
“Your business can be destroyed by simple requests you never know.” She said. “How many Western startups and prominent people have been destroyed by competitors from third countries, and how they didn’t know how possible?”
It’s not an activist’s problem. It’s a national security issue. And that’s one of the reasons why she keeps repeating the same basic advice. Learn privacy. Use privacy. Have the fire escape before the fire.
Related Reading: Written Testimony in Parliament of Lyudmyla Kozlovska
AI, Freedom Tech and the next five years
Kozlovska sees a split future. Centralized AI can become a draget. Open tools can be shielded. She’s not romantic about it. She is looking for it.
“AI can be used against us, but we can also use it to protect us.” She said.
“If we build a coalition over the next five years, we can change reality. We can say it’s dangerous. Or we can build an army of high-tech developers who will be on the privacy side and protect us.
The coalition is technical and political. Developer. donor. Victims testifying. A lawyer who can teach law enforcement is a way to find financial oppression rather than being a part of it.
And yes, regulators are willing to slide the deck, as well as hear the actual story. “Institutions are people.” She said. “You have to spend your time educating them.”
What is the Open Dialogue Foundation doing now?
- Use Bitcoin to route aid when a bank blocks an account.
- Training policymakers on how AML and counterterrorism rules are abused against innocent people.
- Payment privacy is not treated as a crime, as there is a true change coalition leading the building.
- Promote accountability efforts to cross-border financial suppression.
- Freedom Tech will be built and funded to build a bridge between engineers, rights groups and lawmakers.
They are also working on practical innovations that are lost in policy talk. One example she raised was a bionic hand programme for Ukrainian veterans.
If all cross-border payments raise the red flag, you cannot do it. You need quick and calm money. We need donors whose compassion is not punished. You need Bitcoin.
Clear questions
Kozlovska is not embarrassed by the help. “Democracy cannot survive without American philanthropists and donors.” She said. Requests are easy. Support your work.
We lend you time and expertise. If you are a victim of this type of crackdown and your lawyer told you to stay quiet, talk to them anyway. Your case might be an example of modifying a rule.
And for those wondering if this is their fight, she offers reminders from her own life.
She didn’t know the names of those who helped the Crimean family. Someone asked them and they showed up. That’s how the network of care actually works. Quiet hands. Real money. There is no permission.
The final words
“We are not just victims.” Lyudmyla Kozlovska said. “We’ve overcome that and built a future.”
That future requires not only the money you are allowed to touch, but the money you can hold. The moment the bank says no, you need Bitcoin under your custody.
You will need a coder that ships privacy by default. You need donors who refuse to be scared by bad labels. And we need readers who can find the difference between safety and control.
If you want to help, then start there.