Probe suggests links between Assad regime, Beirut blast

Probe suggests links between Assad regime, Beirut blast

Author: Fri, 2021-01-15 17:21

LONDON: The London-based company used to ship the ammonium nitrate that caused last August's devastating explosion in Beirut has been linked to three individuals known to have ties to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

An investigation by Lebanese filmmaker Firas Hatoum uncovered connections between London-based Savaro Ltd. and three figures who had been central to efforts to bolster Assad since the earliest months of the Syrian war.

Hatoum's findings for the first time raise the possibility that the 2,750 tons of nitrate that leveled much of Beirut's port and killed 200 people may have been a by-product of Syrian officials' attempts to procure nitrate to use in weapons.

Joint Russian-Syrian citizens George Haswani, Mudalal Khuri and his brother Imad Khuri have all been previously sanctioned by the US for supporting Assad's war effort.

Companies linked to Haswani and the Khuri brothers “” Hesco Engineering and Construction, and the now-defunct IK Petroleum, respectively “” shared a London address with Savaro, which purchased the nitrate in 2013.

Haswani was a go-to businessman for Assad, and was sanctioned by the US for his role in purchasing oil produced by Daesh on behalf of the Syrian regime.

Savaro is a shelf company “” meaning it has never traded, conducted business