DUBLIN (Reuters) – Some assets held in Irish special purpose entities (SPEs) have been frozen as a result of European Union sanctions imposed on Russian individuals, Irish Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said on Wednesday. Dublin is a major hub for “shadow banking”, the provision of financing services not regulated as tightly as mainstream banks. The central bank estimated there were 33 Russian-sponsored SPEs with total assets of 35.5 billion euros ($40 billion) at the end of 2021. Makhlouf said 15 to 16 of those entities have some connection to sanctioned individuals. The Russian-issue…