The chemicals that exploded in Beirut may belong to the company Savaro Ltd, which is associated with the Dnieper businessman Vladimir Verbonol, according to journalists from the Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Project (OCCIP).
Immediately after the explosion, reporters discovered that the London-based Savaro Ltd had chartered a shipment weighing 2,750 tons in 2013 and wanted to ship it from Georgia to an explosives plant in Mozambique. Instead, the carrier vessel MV Rhosus was detained in Beirut due to unpaid debts and technical malfunctions.
As a result, the cargo was bought by two companies from the Savaro network: Savaro Ltd and another company Agroblend Exports Ltd in the British Virgin Islands. Finding out who owns Savaro has proven to be very difficult: the company’s real shareholders are hiding behind offshore nominees and shareholders.
Investigation has shown that Verbonol is indeed behind Savaro. After tracing the documents, reporters discovered that the company was part of a broader business network that traded technical grade ammonium nitrate, which is used to make explosives.
As a result, link Savaro Ltd. and Agroblend Exports (BVI) Ltd. The Verbonol network was successful thanks to evidence found in a series of emails sent by a company representative after the arrest of Rhosus in Beirut.