Russian businessman Grechushkin, accused of the 2020 ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut, was detained in Bulgaria (6 photos + 1 video)
The explosion killed more than 200 city residents and injured approximately 6,000. 
Igor Grechushkin, a Russian and Cypriot citizen connected to the 2020 Beirut port explosion, has been detained in Bulgaria. Grechushkin was the owner of the Rhosus, a vessel carrying ammonium nitrate—a highly explosive cargo that caused the devastating explosion that claimed approximately 200 lives and caused extensive damage in Lebanon. 
Grechushkin's arrest took place at Sofia Airport after arriving on a flight from Cyprus. This event occurred almost five years after a Lebanese judge issued Interpol arrest warrants for Grechushkin and the ship's captain, Boris Prokoshev. 
Igor Grechushkin (left) and the ship's captain, Boris Prokoshev.
An investigation revealed that the vessel was leased by Grechushkin through an offshore company. According to media reports, in 2013, Lebanese authorities seized the vessel, which was en route from Batumi to Mozambique with 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate on board. In Beirut, the ship, which had a technical malfunction, remained moored at the port. Its owner refused to pay for repairs, and the defective vessel was not allowed to leave the port. The ship's crew fled, and Beirut has been effectively harboring a ticking time bomb since 2014. Lebanese authorities tried to foist the ammonium nitrate, which Beirut confiscated, off on anyone: the military (the country's army repeatedly refused to accept the load) or pyrotechnics manufacturers, but no one wanted to assume the responsibility for the vessel's upkeep and its dangerous cargo.
The head of Beirut's customs office repeatedly reported that the ammonium nitrate was being stored in improper conditions, but his concerns were ignored. It's unclear whether this was a deliberate act of sabotage or simple negligence. Investigators believe the explosion occurred while workers were welding, and a spark landed on the bags containing the cargo, leading to a catastrophe. 
The explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, used as fertilizer and a component in explosives, devastated entire neighborhoods of Beirut.
A grain storage facility located in the port bore the brunt of the blast, but the force of the explosion was so great that residential buildings were also damaged.
Thousands of city residents were left homeless. In addition to the more than 200 dead, at least 6,000 people were injured.
Documents regarding Grechushkin's transfer to Lebanon for questioning are currently being prepared, and if he is refused, investigators plan to travel to Bulgaria for further investigation.
The explosion of August 4, 2020, became one of the largest man-made disasters in modern times, leading to the resignation of the Lebanese government and the initiation of criminal proceedings against
