site.btaSofia City Court Hears Case against Russian Owner of Ship at Centre of 2020 Beirut Port Blast

The Sofia City Court is hearing the case against Igor Grechushkin, a dual citizen of Russia and Cyprus, wanted by Interpol on a red notice at the request of Lebanese judicial authorities, who is charged for the massive Beirut port explosion in 2020, which killed at least 215 people, injured more than 6,000, and devastated large parts of the Lebanese capital, causing billions of dollars in damages.

Grechushkin is the owner of a cargo ship linked to a cargo of ammonium nitrate at the centre of the blast.

He was detained at Vasil Levski–Sofia Airport in early September. He told border officials he had arrived in Bulgaria as a tourist. He landed in Sofia on September 5 on a flight from Paphos, Cyprus. During the routine border check, an Interpol red notice flagged him as internationally wanted.