In the latest updates in the Beirut blast probe, the newly commissioned judge is going after the United Kingdom-registered company Savaro Ltd.
Savaro Ltd is the company through which 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which blew up at Beirut‘s Port, were purchased.
Savaro Ltd bought the ammonium nitrate from a Georgia-based factory and is reportedly linked to the Syrian regime.
According to Al-Jadeed, Judge Tarek Bitar is requesting from Switzerland, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and Germany to lift banking secrecy from the company’s accounts.
British parliamentarians have also been looking into the company. Until now, there is no clear answer as to who is the owner behind the company – something that has been making the British MPs scratch their heads.
It is a requirement for all British firms to list the identity of their owners with Britain’s Companies House; Savaro Ltd did not.
In late January, lawmaker Margaret Hodge said, “Savaro Ltd is flagrantly attempting to evade prosecution [and] has falsified information with Companies House. Justice must be done.”
In a report, investigative journalist Firas Hatoum said that searching for active companies with real commercial records that share an address with Savaro Ltd could be the only way to know its owners and would consequently reveal the real owners of the ammonium nitrate shipment.
It is almost 8 months since the Beirut blast and the culprits of the disaster have yet to be brought to justice.
