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The arrest of Igor Grechushkin comes nearly five years after a
Lebanese investigative judge issued two arrest warrants through
Interpol for him and the vessel's captain, Boris Prokoshev, also
a Russian citizen.
The judicial officials said papers are being prepared requesting
the transfer of Grechushkin to Lebanon for questioning. They
said that if Grechushkin is not handed over, Lebanese
investigators could travel to Bulgaria to question him there.
The four Lebanese judicial officials said Grechushkin, who also
has Cypriot nationality, was arrested last week at Vasil Levski
Sofia airport after arriving on a flight from Cyprus. They spoke
on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Authorities in Bulgaria have been approached for comment.
The Aug. 4, 2020, blast killed at least 218 people and wounded
more than 6,000 others. It devastated large swaths of Beirut and
caused billions of dollars in damages.
No Lebanese official has been convicted in connection with the
incident.
Earlier this year, Lebanon elected President Joseph Aoun, Prime
Minister Nawaf Salam and a Cabinet on a reformist platform and
pledging to complete the port probe and hold the perpetrators to
account.
Investigative judge Tarek Bitar then summoned senior political,
judicial and security officials in July in a new push on the
case.
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Associated Press writer Veselin Toshkov contributed to this
report from Sofia, Bulgaria.
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