UK MPs Call for Investigation Into British Company With Possible Link to Beirut Blast

UK MPs Call for Investigation Into British Company With Possible Link to Beirut Blast

Two senior British parliamentarians called on Friday for an investigation into a British-registered company possibly linked to last year's devastating explosion in Beirut, after Reuters found that the firm had not disclosed its beneficial owners.

The company, Savaro, is registered at a London address, and like all British firms is required to list who owns it with Britain's companies register, known as Companies House.

In an e-mail to Reuters this week, the woman listed as Savaro's owner and sole director at Companies House, Marina Psyllou, told Reuters that she was acting as an agent on behalf of another beneficial owner, whose identity she could not disclose.

“The person who was and has always been the UBO (ultimate beneficial owner) of the company was always the same. As you should be aware, we cannot disclose his name,” she said. She did not say why she could not disclose his identity.

Global corporate governance rules define a UBO as someone who receives the benefits of an entity's transactions, typically owning a minimum of 25 percent of its capital.

Margaret Hodge, a British lawmaker and former cabinet minister who headed parliament's public affairs committee