Three Belgian companies are being prosecuted for exporting chemicals to Syria, one of which could be used in the production of sarin gas.  The firms say they acted with the seeming consent of Belgian customs between 2014 and 2016, but were subsequently alleged to have failed to apply for the permits...The customs investigation into the firms appears to have been initiated by the Dutch authorities.  Isopropanol...is...a major component of the type of gas used in recent suspected chemical attacks by the Assad regime.  Following the death of more than 80 people in an attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun...4 April 2017, the French government said that “since 2014 it has been established that Syria has been attempting to acquire...isopropanol”.  Between May 2014 and December 2016, there were 24 deliveries to Syria from the three companies...The trial of...AAE Chemie Trading, Anex Customs and Danmar Logistics...is set for 15 May in Antwerp...AAE Chemie confirmed that it had been exporting isopropanol...to Syria, but said that it had been trading with private partners in the country for 20 years, and “none of those companies appears to be on any suspicious list”. The company said it had not been aware of the need for a licence for the exports...A representative of Anex Customs and Danmar Logistics told Knack magazine in a statement: “My customer [AAE Chemie] has been exporting chemicals to various paint factories and leather processing factories in Syria...for 15 to 20 years...“It is...not the case that we have hidden ourselves and/or have taken illegal actions. Also in contacts between AAE Chemie and high customs officers, no one pointed out that something was wrong...”