The Russian Orthodox Church in Vatican City

The history of the Church of the Great Martyr Saint Catherine (Santa Caterina Martire) goes back to the late 19th century, when the idea of building a Russian Orthodox church in Rome was proposed. The plan was thwarted by the Russian Revolution in 1917, followed by 70 years of communism. It was revived in the 1990s, and the church was finally consecrated in 2009.

Between 2007 and 2008, the new church received $2,142,913 in donations from three core companies in the Troika Laundromat: Quantus Division Ltd., Industrial Trade Corp. and Gotland Industrial Inc.

Between 2008 and 2010, Quantus appeared to donate a further $437,391 to the Russian Orthodox Church, sending the funds to the Italian bank account of a man named Andrey Vasiltsev and indicating “donation for the Russian orthodox church” as the reason for the transfer.

Church representatives didn’t respond to a request for comment, and Vasiltsev could not be reached.