Saturday, 16 January, 2021 - 06:15
A view shows damage at the site of the blast in Beirut s port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. (Reuters) Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat
The ammonium nitrate shipment that caused the cataclysmic Beirut port explosion was originally headed to the Syrian regime and was to be used for military purposes.
The company used to ship a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate to Beirut port, where it caused the explosion on August 4, has been linked to three influential businessmen with ties to the Syrian president Bashar Assad, a new investigation has found, reported the Guardian on Friday.
The revelations about Savaro Ltd – a London shelf company that was deregistered at Companies House on Tuesday – have amplified suspicions that Beirut had always been the cargo’s intended destination, and not Mozambique, its official endpoint.
The company used to ship a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate to Beirut port, where it caused a devastating explosion last August, has been linked to three influential businessmen with ties to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a new investigation has found. The revelations about Savaro Limited – a London shelf company that was deregistered at Companies House on Tuesday – have amplified suspicions that Beirut had always been the cargo’s intended.
Beirut, Lebanon – Interpol has issued three international arrest notices for the owner and captain of a ship that brought 2,750 tonnes of explosive material into Beirut’s port seven years before it exploded in the deadly August 2020 blast.
A judicial source told Al Jazeera on Tuesday Public Prosecutor Ghassan Khoury received a letter informing him the so-called “red notices” had been issued, based on the request of Lebanon’s judiciary.
Those named are Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman and apparent owner of the MV Rhosus that brought the ammonium nitrate into Beirut in late 2013, as well as the ship’s captain at the time, Borys Prokoshew, who is also Russian.