Nearly five years after the catastrophic Beirut port explosion that devastated Lebanon’s capital and left the world reeling, Bulgarian authorities have arrested Igor Grechushkin, the elusive shipowner whose vessel brought the deadly cargo to Beirut’s shores. The arrest, made at Sofia Airport on September 5, 2025, marks a dramatic new chapter in the long and troubled quest for accountability after one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions.
According to multiple news sources, including Devdiscourse and TRT World, Grechushkin, a 48-year-old Russian-Cypriot citizen, was detained by Bulgarian border police upon arriving from Paphos, Cyprus. The arrest was triggered by an Interpol red notice requested by Lebanese judicial authorities back in 2020. Zdravko Samuilov, head of the border police at Sofia Airport, told reporters, “He offered no resistance. He repeatedly insisted on speaking to a lawyer and, after consulting one, he fully cooperated.” Grechushkin reportedly told officers he was visiting Bulgaria for tourism, and his luggage contained nothing suspicious.
The significance of Grechushkin’s arrest is hard to overstate. He is the registered owner of the MV Rhosus, the Moldovan-flagged cargo ship that transported 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate from Georgia to Lebanon in 2013. That shipment, originally said to be bound for Mozambique, was offloaded and stored in a Beirut port warehouse after the Rhosus was impounded for technical problems and unpaid port fees. The ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilizers but also highly explosive, languished in unsafe conditions for years—despite repeated warnings to Lebanese officials about the risk.
On August 4, 2020, a fire in that warehouse triggered a massive detonation. The blast killed more than 220 people, wounded over 7,000, and destroyed large swathes of Beirut, causing billions of dollars in damages. The explosion was so powerful that it shattered windows miles away and was felt as far as Cyprus. It remains one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.
The aftermath has been marked by grief, outrage, and a relentless demand for justice from victims’ families. Yet, as The New Arab and other outlets have reported, the official investigation has been repeatedly stalled by political interference, with judges removed or blocked from pursuing charges against senior Lebanese officials. Not a single Lebanese official has been convicted in connection to the blast. The only consistent movement has come from international efforts, like the Interpol red notices for Grechushkin and others allegedly involved.
Grechushkin’s legal situation is complex. After his arrest, a Sofia city court confirmed his detention for up to 40 days—until October 15, 2025—giving Lebanese authorities a brief window to submit a formal extradition request. According to lawyer Youssef Lahoud, who represents the Beirut Bar Association’s legal team for the port blast case, “Once a wanted person enters a country that cooperates with Interpol, that state can arrest him, which is what happened in Bulgaria.” Lahoud added, “The file must be precise and include clear evidence, so the Bulgarian authorities can either send him to Lebanon or return him to his home country.”
The path to extradition is anything but straightforward. There is no extradition treaty between Lebanon and Bulgaria, meaning the final decision rests with Bulgarian authorities. Grechushkin’s multiple citizenships—he holds Russian, Cypriot, and reportedly Greek-administered Southern Cyprus passports—further complicate matters. Bulgarian officials have hinted at a possible roadblock, referring to Grechushkin as a Cypriot citizen. If extradited to Russia or Cyprus instead, those countries could choose to prosecute him themselves or simply release him, depending on the strength of Lebanon’s case.
Lebanon’s public prosecution is racing against the clock. The extradition dossier must include a summary of the case, the charges, and the evidence behind the warrant. The Lebanese prosecutor’s office has stated that Grechushkin is wanted for “introducing explosives into Lebanon, a terrorist act that resulted in the death of a large number of people, and disabling machinery with the intent of sinking a ship.” The latter charge refers to the fate of the Rhosus, which sank at Beirut port in 2018 after springing a leak.
For many in Lebanon, Grechushkin’s arrest is a long-awaited breakthrough. Yet, as Lahoud cautioned, “If he provides new information, it could change the direction of the investigation and expand it. But he may also say nothing of value.” The real test will be whether Lebanese authorities can successfully secure his extradition and, more importantly, whether his testimony will finally shed light on the murky circumstances that brought the ammonium nitrate to Beirut—and on those who allowed it to remain there, ignored, for so many years.
The story of the MV Rhosus is riddled with unanswered questions. According to port officials, the ship was never scheduled to dock in Beirut; it reportedly made an unscheduled stop to pick up more cargo, but was found to be overloaded and subsequently impounded. The captain of the Rhosus, Boris Prokoshev, has previously blamed Lebanese authorities for the disaster, telling Radio Free Europe in 2021, “They should have gotten rid of the vessel right away instead of confiscating it and demanding fees for harboring it.” He also noted, “We are talking about ammonium nitrate here. They could have used it for their fields. Nobody was claiming it, which means it belonged to nobody.” Prokoshev was critical of Grechushkin, accusing him of abandoning the crew and failing to pay their wages.
Investigators have also questioned the intended destination of the ammonium nitrate. Was Mozambique truly the final stop, or was the shipment always meant for Lebanon? Lebanese authorities have said they will rely “on Grechushkin’s statements and on the information he holds to shed light on essential aspects of the investigation.” There have even been allegations from terrorism watchdogs that the cargo was intended for Hezbollah, though no conclusive evidence has emerged.
Political pressure to resolve the case has mounted, especially since the election of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in January 2025. On the fifth anniversary of the blast, Aoun pledged, “We are working with all available means to ensure the investigations are completed with transparency and integrity. The blood of your loved ones will not be in vain. Justice is coming, accountability is coming.”
Still, the investigation faces daunting obstacles. As The New Arab reported, Judge Tarek Bitar, who leads the probe, has been banned from traveling abroad to question suspects, and previous judicial decisions have delayed progress. Whether Grechushkin’s arrest will finally break the deadlock or simply add another chapter to Lebanon’s long history of impunity remains to be seen.
For the families of Beirut’s victims and for a country still struggling to recover, the hope is that this time, justice will not be denied.
