Orient Net, April 20, 2018– Belgium has opened an investigation against three companies for allegedly illegally exporting a chemical to Assad regime in Syria that could be used to produce the nerve agent sarin, Belgian Foreign Minister, Didier Reynders, said on Thursday.

Mr Reynders confirmed a report by the magazine Knack and the organization Syrian Archive showing that in spite strict EU sanctions against Syria since 2013, three Belgian companies exported 96 tons of Isopropanol to the country between 2014 and 2016.

Isopropanol, which is a chemical freely available in Europe and often used as a solvent, is considered “dual-use” because it can be used to manufacture sarin, which has been used in by Assad regime against civilians in Khan Sheikhoun and other areas during the Syrian war.

According to the Belgian Customs Administration, the three companies reportedly worked with “flawed customs declarations,” the Belga news agency reported.