Watson: “A man steeped in the shady,
sometimes disreputable world of intelligence. He used to work for the KGB at a
high level…”
A somewhat
lazy conflation of the (Soviet) KGB, in which the young Litvinenko did not hold
any senior post, and its various successor agencies including the FSB. In
passing, it may be mentioned that in August 1991, Vladimir Putin resigned
definitively from the KGB in reaction to and on the second day of the abortive
putsch against Gorbachev:
Litvinenko
though, having remained within the Soviet/Russian security apparatus throughout
the early 90s, was promoted in 1997 to deputy head of a section (eight to ten
officers) of the FSB Department for the Investigation and Prevention of
Organised Crime. Also important to note however, was that in this role he
moonlighted as head of security for – you guessed it – Boris Berezovsky. Officially
this was illegal, but Russia’s cash-strapped public sector tended to turn a
blind eye in those days. It was an excellent arrangement for Berezovsky, as
well as for Litvinenko:
Russian
TV journalist Andrey Kondrashov: “[Berezovsky] made all of his money by
sticking to the one rule that he set for himself in the 90s – stay close to the
authorities… I have no doubt that he fled the country because he feared
prosecution[2]
not political persecution, as he once said. Putin’s declared principle that
oligarchs should be kept at a distance from the authorities disabled the
mechanism that made it possible for him to make money, by maintaining close
links with the government.”
From ‘The Life and Death of Boris Berezovsky’, Russia Today documentary, first broadcast April 2013.
From ‘The Life and Death of Boris Berezovsky’, Russia Today documentary, first broadcast April 2013.
Litvinenko
is understood originally to have fallen out with his FSB superiors over his
exposure of what he alleged was a serious intention to assassinate Boris
Berezovsky. For the purposes of the Inquiry, Marina Litvinenko testified that
this amounted to…
“an unequivocal instruction to
commit an act of murder by his superior” (3.46),
…though Owen makes clear that she had to be, as it were, ‘persuaded’ that this was in reality her recollection.
“…but was granted asylum in
Britain in 2000.”
Boris Berezovsky financed the arrangements for Litvinenko and his family to flee Russia and reach London; Alexander Goldfarb attended to the details. This being an offence under British law, Goldfarb (a US citizen) was subsequently banned from visiting Britain for one year.[3]
Marina L: “He was very loyal to this country [i.e. Britain], and he was very happy to be here.”
Watson: “Six years later, on
1st November, just after he’d become a British citizen…”
Litvinenko
was granted full British citizenship on
13 October 2006. As noted by Sir Robert Owen, this appears to have instilled in
him a false sense that his personal security situation was improved.
“…he met two former colleagues from
Russia’s intelligence world in the Pine Bar at the Millennium Hotel.”
To
reiterate: Owen’s report makes clear that Kovtun was never in fact part of ‘Russia’s
intelligence world’, but was an old friend of Lugovoy. The latter appears to have been trying to
find some work for him. Furthermore, it seems they both (like a lot of
Russians) got a kick out of visiting London. As to whether Kovtun was really
likely, deliberately, to have got himself mixed up in an intrigue like this, in
the words of his ex-wife, Marina Wall:
"“I looked on the internet and
found out Litvinenko is supposed to have been poisoned with thallium. I then
read that Litvinenko had met two businessmen in a hotel. They are said to have
been Lugovoy and Dmitry. My first thought was that I found this ridiculous and
absurd. When I read that an agent was involved and then my husband, I could
never imagine that. I mainly took care of our living expenses and dealt with
all financial matters. He didn’t even have an account.”
When asked whether Mr Kovtun
was skilled technically, for example with regard to computers, Marina Wall
stated:
“I had to do everything. I had
to set up the letters on the computer. He was not able to do this. Dmitry was
no handyman. He could not even bang a nail into the wall. Finally, I would like
to say that it is beyond my power of imagination that Dmitry is an agent or a
member of the secret service. I really cannot believe that for the life of me.”" (Litvinenko Inquiry 6.40)
With
Lugovoy and his family visiting London to watch that evening’s Champions League
clash between Arsenal and CSKA Moscow, Kovtun appears to have decided at short
notice to fly out from Hamburg for the opportunity to tag along, in spite of
not having a ticket.
“Here he is [CCTV footage of Litvinenko
on London street] leaving the meeting. Two days later he was admitted to his
local hospital, vomiting and in great pain.”
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