Filenews 25 September 2025 - by Fanis Makridis
The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus hold in their hands the fate of the 48-year-old Russian with Cypriot citizenship, Igor Grechushkin, who is wanted by Lebanon for the tragedy in the port of Beirut in August 2020.
The owner of the ship carrying the ammonia nitrate, which caused the deadly explosion (4/8/20) in the neighbouring country five years ago, was arrested in Bulgaria on September 7 on the basis of an Interpol red notice. And this after a demarche by Lebanon, which is looking for him.
However, the scenario of its issuance from Bulgaria to Lebanon is not the main one. As "F" is informed by a secure source of information, the Bulgarian authorities have turned to the Republic of Cyprus, which is now called upon to decide on his future. Cyprus - since Grechushkin is a Cypriot citizen - has the possibility to try him.
This action on the part of Bulgaria is based on a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued in 2016. This is the judgment in Petruhhin.
On the basis of this, a member state of the European Union, in which the extradition request has been made, has the obligation to inform and initiate consultation with the member state of nationality of the requested person, giving the latter the opportunity to request to take over the case and try it itself.
What Hartsiotis says
"F" contacted the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Marios Hartsiotis, asking to be informed if Cyprus has a say in the case of the extradition of Igor Grechushkin from Bulgaria to Lebanon, and if the Republic of Cyprus is called upon to play any role. The Minister was sparing, since he was content to briefly state the following: "We are aware of the case, which is being handled by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, the Police and the Legal Service."
Even if Mr. Hartsiotis did not want to expand, what he told us is not contradictory to the information we have recorded.
It should be noted, however, that the request to Bulgaria has been submitted by Lebanon. Media in the Middle Eastern country have been reporting since the beginning of this week that a competent official of the Lebanese government has signed relevant documents and not these have been sent to the Bulgarian authorities.
For convicts only
What becomes clear is that the Republic, despite the good relations it has with Lebanon, has not concluded a bilateral agreement with that country for the extradition of wanted persons. The bilateral agreement that exists, as we found out from the official website of the Ministry of Justice of Cyprus, concerns "the Transfer of Sentenced Persons" ("Agreement between the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Lebanon on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons"). It entered into force in spring 1997.
What Manolis had said
From the first moment, the case was of Cypriot interest. Not only because the deadly explosion was felt in Cyprus. The cargo ship Rhosus with the 2,750 tons of ammonia nitrate was of Cypriot interests.
The writer a day after the deadly explosion had spoken with the businessman and former president of Anorthosis, Charalambos Manolis, since the ship previously belonged to the interest company of Interfleet Shipanagement.
It had reported that the ship Rhosus belonged to the Interfleet Shipanagement fleet before September 2013, when it had anchored in the port of Beirut.
"It had been sold about a year earlier to a Russian businessman, but my company retained its technical management," Mr. Manolis told us about Rhosus.
Regarding the history of the cargo ship's journey, he had told us, among other things: "The ship had a cargo of ammonium nitrate and was going to transport it to Mozambique. In the process, the shipowner decided to put more cargo on the deck of the ship, but it turned out to be more than allowed. The so-called 'caps' that we use in maritime terminology could not withstand the weight. That is why the charterers tied up the ship, with the Lebanese authorities unloading the cargo." Mr. Manolis added: "It doesn't matter who the shipowner is."
In response to our question, he had stated that ammonia nitrate is widely used in agriculture and it is very common for such cargoes to be transported by merchant ships.
"The issue is about cargo management. After all, based on the facts, the tragedy started from a sparkler warehouse. The fire spread to the area where the ammonia nitrate was stored," he concluded.
Question mark as to why he was not arrested in Cyprus
- The recording of events from 2020 to the beginning of 2021
The question, however, that arises has to do with the fact that the 48-year-old of Russian origin, Grechushkin, as it became known since August 2020, when the deadly explosion in the port of Beirut occurred, is a permanent resident of Cyprus. Why, then, had the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus not arrested him since a warrant for his arrest was pending?
An official with whom "F" spoke said that when shortly after the 2020 tragedy the then 43-year-old businessman was interrogated in Cyprus by members of the Lebanese Police, no red notice had been issued through Interpol.
Our newspaper, trying to shed light on this parameter, identified the following facts, which we record:
- The Cyprus Police on the afternoon of Thursday 6/8/2020 satisfied a request from Interpol Beirut, identifying and interrogating the then 43-year-old Russian owner of the ship-owning company that transported the ammonia nitrate. The Police had officially stated at the time that in the afternoon of the specific day "after a relevant correspondence from Interpol Beirut and in the context of international police cooperation, we located a 43-year-old resident of Cyprus". It was clarified that according to the request sent, the 43-year-old was called and gave some information about the specific cargo. The Police in the official briefing stated that "this information will be forwarded to the Lebanese authorities". At the time, the assurance was given by the Cyprus Police that Igor Grechushkin, who lived in Limassol with his wife, did not hold a Cypriot passport.
- In October 2020, the Lebanese news network NNA reported that Lebanon had issued an arrest warrant for the captain of the ship Rhosus carrying the ammonia nitrate and for the shipowner.
- On January 12, 2021, the Russian news agency TASS reported that Interpol had approved the arrest of Russians who were transporting the cargo of ammonia nitrate to Lebanon. Among other things, it noted: "As reported by the national agency Al-Wataniya, the 'red notice' was issued at the request of the then Attorney General of Lebanon, Ghasan Khouri. The news portal Elnashra clarified that they are Boris Prokoshev, captain of the Rhosus in 2013, and the shipowner-businessman from Khabarovsk, Igor Grechushkin, who lives in Cyprus (...) According to information from the Russian Professional Union of Seafarers, in 2013 the Moldovan-flagged cargo ship, which was carrying the dangerous cargo from Batumi (Georgia) to Mozambique, made an unplanned stop in Beirut. There the port authorities detained the ship due to technical operating violations. The crew, consisting of Russian and Ukrainian citizens, turned to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and complained that the employer – the Cypriot company Teto Shipping – had not paid wages since the contracts were signed (...) The cargo of ammonium nitrate that had been unloaded six years ago in the port of Beirut was stored in a warehouse and exploded on August 4. The power of the explosion is estimated at 1,500 tons of TNT. The shock wave destroyed and rendered thousands of homes uninhabitable, about 200 people were killed, 6.500 were injured and over 300.000 civilians were left homeless. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Interior, the cause of the explosion was a fire that broke out during welding work on the ammonia nitrate stored in one of the port's warehouses."
