Bulgaria Arrests Russian Ship Owner Linked to 2020 Beirut Port Blast

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarian authorities confirmed Tuesday that they arrested a Russian ship owner wanted in Lebanon whose vessel is linked to the cargo of ammonium nitrate at the center of the massive Aug. 4, 2020, blast at Beirut’s port.

Igor Grechushkin, 48, was detained at Sofia International Airport on Sept. 6 after arriving from the Cypriot city of Paphos, Zdravko Samuilov, head of the border police at the airport, said. Grechushkin, who holds dual Russian and Cypriot citizenship, “did not resist arrest, cooperated, and nothing suspicious was found in his luggage,” Samuilov said. The arrest was made on the basis of an Interpol red notice, Bulgarian officials said.

Following a court order, Grechushkin was placed in detention for a maximum of 40 days as Bulgarian authorities requested the necessary documents from Lebanon to begin extradition proceedings. Lebanese authorities first reported the arrest on Tuesday.

A Lebanese investigative judge issued two arrest warrants through Interpol five years ago in connection with the ammonium nitrate that was stored at the port and later exploded, killing at least 218 people, injuring more than 6,000 and causing widespread destruction across the capital. One warrant named Grechushkin and the other named the vessel’s captain, Boris Prokoshev, who is also a Russian citizen.

Lebanon has pursued a prolonged investigation into the circumstances that led to the storage of the explosive cargo at the port, but the probe has been hampered by political divisions and legal challenges. To date, no Lebanese official has been convicted in connection with the blast, and investigations have involved multiple countries, legal authorities and international notices.

Bulgarian officials said they have asked Lebanese authorities to provide the documentation required under international law for extradition. If Lebanon forwards the necessary paperwork and meets the legal conditions under Bulgarian and international law, courts in Bulgaria will consider the request.

The detentions and legal processes that followed the 2020 explosion have unfolded amid ongoing public anger in Lebanon, where the blast intensified scrutiny of government oversight and corruption. International investigators and human rights groups have urged transparent prosecutions, while survivors and relatives of victims continue to demand accountability for the disaster that devastated large parts of Beirut and inflicted lasting social and economic consequences on the country.