Three Belgian firms will appear before a Belgian court on charges of exporting chemicals to Syria, including isopropanol, a common substance that can also be used in the production of sarin nerve gas, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The case, which will commence in Antwerp on May 15, centers on the export of several chemical substances between 2014 and 2016 to Lebanon and Syria by Belgian chemical group AAE Chemie and two handling agents, Danmar Logistics and Anex Customs. “The companies had no export license for these products,” a spokesman for the court said. The companies could be found in breach of international sanctions. “Both my companies and AAE Chemie have always acted in good faith. We have always fully complied with the checks of customs officers at the port of Antwerp,” a spokesman for Danmar Logistics said. Under Belgian law a defendant is not required to enter a plea. Western countries have accused the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons, including sarin, against its own population. The most recent attack took place in the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta. At least 40 people were killed, sparking global outrage and Western strikes against regime chemical facilities. Widely used as an industrial solvent and also in some medical products, isopropanol, or rubbing alcohol, is one of two key ingredients for sarin. Since 2013 companies need a license to export chemicals to Syria. Finance ministry spokeswoman Florence Angelici said a case had been brought for making a false customs declaration, as the companies had not listed isopropanol on the shipping documents. Belgian weekly Knack first brought the case to light, reporting that a total of 168 tons of isopropanol had been shipped from Belgium to Syria and Lebanon between mid-2014 and the end of 2016. According to Knack, the case involves a total of 24 shipments including other products such as methanol, a type of alcohol, and the solvent dichloromethane. The companies said they were unaware that rules around the export of certain products had changed in 2013 and insist their customers were private companies making paint and varnish.