On 4 August 2020, hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive substance used in fertilisers and incorrectly kept in the port for years, exploded, killing close to 220 people, wounding over 6,000 others, and causing billions of dollars' worth of damage to the city.

In August 2021, the Beirut Bar Association, together with four victims' families, filed a lawsuit against Savaro in the UK where the firm is based. Savaro is a London based chemical trading firm accused of having chartered the shipment of the ammonium nitrate in 2013 that ended up in the Beirut Blast in 2020.

Following a letter from the head of the Beirut Bar Association, the United Kingdom’s registrar of companies issued an official decision to prevent Savaro’s liquidation process.

While it remains unclear who the owner of Savaro . is, investigative journalists from Lebanese and international outlets have reported on their identities. In June 2022, the High Court of Justice ordered the company to reveal its true owners, but the firm did not do so.

In February 2023, the British court ruled that Savaro Ltd was liable towards the victims of the devastating blast. The development was viewed by the families of the victims as a rare step towards justice and a protest against the political interference that has impeded the investigation in Lebanon for more than two years. Mariana Foudoulian, whose sister Gaia died in the explosion, called the judgment a “very important step.” She told AP, “Through this judgment, we can try to access more important details.”

In June 2023, the court ordered payment of 100,000 British pounds for each of the three claimants whose family members were killed and more than 500,000 British pounds to a claimant who had been harmed in the explosion.

In another case, the U.S.-Norwegian geophysical services business TGS was sued in Texas by the Swiss foundation Accountability Now and some of the victims' relatives for allegedly sub-chartering the ship carrying the ammonium nitrate in 2012. The claimants expressed their hope that this will compel the corporation to provide correspondence with the other parties under investigation.