A few days ago, Russian Igor Grechushkin was arrested in Bulgaria. He is wanted by Lebanon for the 2020 Beirut port explosion. What is known about him? And what is his connection to Bulgaria?
Last week, Russian Igor Grechushkin was arrested at Sofia's "Vasil Levski" airport. He is wanted for the 2020 Beirut port explosion. Grechushkin, who also holds Cypriot citizenship, was arrested on an international Interpol warrant after arriving in Sofia from Cyprus.
Lebanese authorities are preparing documents for Grechushkin's upcoming extradition to Lebanon, where he will be questioned about his role in the 2020 explosion that killed at least 218 people and injured over 6,000. If Bulgaria decides not to extradite him, Lebanese investigators could arrive in the country to question the Russian.
What is Grechushkin's role in the deadly Beirut explosion?
Grechushkin is alleged to have been the owner or temporary operator of the Moldovan-flagged MV Rhosus, whose cargo caused the deadly explosion. The ship was carrying 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate from the Georgian port of Batumi to Mozambique in September 2013. It was in poor condition, with corroded decks, problems with electricity and radio communication. Grechushkin ordered the ship's captain, Boris Prokoshev, to head to the port of Beirut, where he could take on additional cargo and pay for passage through the Suez Canal.
However, in the Lebanese capital, port authorities found that the ship was unseaworthy and that port fees of $100,000 had not been paid, which is why they forbade it from continuing its journey. Grechushkin declared bankruptcy and abandoned the ship with its cargo of ammonium nitrate at the Lebanese port. The dangerous cargo was moved to Warehouse 12 at the port in 2014 and remained there until August 4, 2020, when it caused the deadly explosion.
What is the connection to Bulgaria
A 2020 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found that Grechushkin did not own the Rhosus, but only leased it through an offshore company registered in the Marshall Islands. Documents reviewed by the journalistic team show that the real owner of the Rhosus was Charalambos Manolis, a Cypriot shipping magnate. Manoli denies this, but refuses to provide documents to support his claim.
The 2020 explosion killed at least 218 people and injured more than 6,000Photo: Bilal Jawich/Xinhua/picture-alliance
The investigation shows that the Cypriot tycoon owned the ship through a company registered in Panama, which receives its mail in Bulgaria. The address is registered to the now-defunct Interfleet Shipmanagement. The owner, Nikolay Petrov Hristov, confirmed to OCCRP that the company was a junior partner of a Cypriot company of the same name owned by Manoli. Hristov claims to have frozen the Bulgarian company's operations in 2012 after Manoli implicated him in a dubious loan from FBME Bank without his knowledge.
However, the Lebanese prosecutor's office continues to consider Igor Grechushkin the owner of the ship, and Interpol has issued arrest warrants for him on this basis.
So far, no Lebanese government official has been convicted in connection with the 2020 Beirut explosion. Over the years, the investigation has been blocked repeatedly, with the original investigating judge, Fadi Sawan, removed under political pressure.
This year, Lebanon's newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, promised to complete the investigation. Grechushkin's arrest is the first serious step in this direction after years of delays in the trial.