On Dublin backstreet, hub of Russian finance quietly falls apart

With Russian business dealings now stigmatized, there’s also a spotlight on Ireland’s role facilitating the business.

On a Dublin backstreet, behind a Georgian townhouse where the Irish Red Cross is raising funds to support Ukraine, a once-thriving hub of Russian finance is falling apart.

Here, a little-known firm quietly helped to keep Russia’s global money engine ticking over in recent years. Cafico International set up shell companies for some of the country’s biggest businesses, providing directors and accounts, helping them to sell bonds and raise billions of dollars.