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THREAD: I'm going to wade into the debate about @ferashatoum 's investigation which links the ammonium nitrate responsible for the #Beirut blast to 3 Syrian businessmen on a US sanctions list. I have tried to mirror the open-source investigation, with the help of expert friends.
I have a few outstanding comments:
1) Hatoum premises his singling out of HESCO Engineering (linked to Syrian businessman #1, Haswani) on the idea that of the 73 active company listed on the address, only one had the traits of an active company: HESCO. This is simply not true.
1) Hatoum premises his singling out of HESCO Engineering (linked to Syrian businessman #1, Haswani) on the idea that of the 73 active company listed on the address, only one had the traits of an active company: HESCO. This is simply not true.
you can have a look yourself, as I have done with an auditor friend. 10s of people, many Russian, some e. Asian, some Gulf-based UK citizens, associated with the 1st address. If you look at the pubbed financial transactions among the diff. companies, nothing distinguishes HESCO.
sources: https://www.ukaddressbook.uk/a/suite-351-10-great-russell-street-london-wc1b-3bq?status=Active
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…https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/
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…https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/
2) On the 2nd address and 3rd addresses, which link to the second and third businessmen (the Khuris), several of the 73 companies also share the other two addresses (Cottons Road, John Prince's Street). The common alternative addresses also do not set the Syrian businesses apart
What Hatoum tries to argue is that the companies associated with the 3 Syrian businessmen are the *real* Savaro Ltd, aka the company that bought the nitrate. Quote: "All the other companies have the traits of illusory companies". This does not stand up to scrutiny.
There are many explanations for why the 73 companies share not just one, but several of the same addresses. They could be using the same lawyer. There are many reasons why people set up businesses without a physical presence, some insidious, some innocuous (visas).
Moreover, the idea that Savaro was more than unwitting intermediary is also in dispute. @ChloeNCornish 's reporting from last August found that Savaro alerted authorities about the A.N bags. https://www.ft.com/content/7d56501d-67c0-4a18-94f1-24b9ffd0acc9
I also recommend this great report by the OCCRP which found that "at almost every stage, the Rhosus’ deadly shipment was connected to actors who used opaque offshore structures and lax government oversight to work in the shadows." https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/a-hidden-tycoon-african-explosives-and-a-loan-from-a-notorious-bank-questionable-connections-surround-beirut-explosion-shipment
The fact is, the information around the A.N is widely dispersed, probably by design. The efforts of investigative journalists is badly needed, but it's likely, based on all that we know so far, that the answer, if it ever arrives, will not be so straightforward.
