Interpol issues arrest warrants for two Russians over Beirut port explosion

12 January 2021

 

Interpol has issued arrest warrants for Russian citizens Igor Grechushkin and Boris Prokoshev over an explosion in the port of Beirut, the Lebanese national news agency NNA reported.


Grechushkin owned the dry cargo ship Rhosus, which was carrying ammonium nitrate from Batumi to Mozambique. The ship made an unscheduled stop in Lebanon due to technical problems, but after an inspection, port authorities prohibited it from returning to the sea. As a result, Grechushkin went bankrupt and actually abandoned the crew: the Russian and Ukrainian sailors had to stay in Beirut for about a year, they were not paid wages and were not given any food. The captain of the Rhosus was Prokoshev.

 

 

Last August, the detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate confiscated by the customs services from the ship back in 2014 and stored in a warehouse caused a powerful explosion in the port of Beirut. 190 people died and more than six thousand were wounded. The capital of Lebanon was declared a disaster area, and a state of emergency was in effect in the city until September 19.


As a result, a wave of anti-government rallies swept across Beirut and led to Prime Minister Hassan Diyab announcing the resignation of his entire government.


An international arrest warrant for Grechushkin and Prokoshev was requested by a Lebanese court last October. Interpol also issued a red tag for a Portuguese businessman who assessed warehouse 12 in Lebanon's harbor, where explosives were stored, in 2014.

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Hussein Malla / AP / TASS

Based on materials from RIA Novosti