Litvinenko: polonium trail leads to the Kremlin, but in a bizarre way
At the preliminary hearings in the Coroner's court in London, it was announced that at the time of the poisoning, Litvinenko was working for MI-6 and the Spanish secret service CNI, and that the British government has indisputable evidence of involvement in his death in Russia. This is a "new diplomatic war," write the media. For the first time, the Kremlin has made it clear that it wants to become an "interested party" in the upcoming investigation.The more details of Litvinenko’s poisoning come up, the darker and dirty it seems to be, the British The Times wrote in an editorial. At a recent preliminary hearing in the coroner's court, it was said: "Judging from the evidence at the disposal of the British government, the responsibility for the murder of Litvinenko lies with the Russian government." Thus, apparently, Litvinenko’s death statement was confirmed.
In addition, it became known for certain that at the time of the poisoning, Litvinenko was working for MI-6: British intelligence commissioned him to help the Spanish prosecutor's office in investigating the activities of the Russian mafia. Both the British and Spanish intelligence services transferred payments to the general bank account of Litvinenko and his wife, the publication said.
This suggests a new version: "What if Litvinenko was killed by the Russian state, since it became known that he was being paid by British intelligence?"
But the British-Russian relations should not be allowed to deteriorate further, the newspaper said. The publication paints a gloomy picture: "The criminal activity of the Russian mafia is a" headache "for the secret services throughout Europe, but especially for the British." Britain and Russia are not interested in the conflict over Litvinenko damaging their common fight against money laundering, drug trafficking, Islamist terrorism, Internet crime and "conspiracy to kill," writes The Times.
"According to the investigation started after the death of Litvinenko, secret documents of the British government, including materials from Scotland Yard and the secret services, prove that the Russian state has something to justify. These extraordinary accusations will further worsen relations between Britain and Russia," - writes another British edition of The Daily Mail.
“Until now, the Russians have kept their distance from this investigation, but yesterday the Kremlin made it clear that it wants to become an“ interested party ”when a full-scale investigation begins next year, giving its own lawyer the opportunity to make submissions and cross-examine witnesses,” the authors inform articles.
"Alexander Litvinenko fled to Britain, accusing high-ranking officials in Moscow of having ordered a number of murders. The former FSB officer, his wife and son were granted asylum in 2000, and he allegedly started working on MI-5 and MI-6 , revealing the secrets of the Putin regime. Litvinenko wrote a number of books in which he accused the FSB of organizing terrorist acts and murders in order to help Vladimir Putin to come to power ", - reminds history poisoned agent The Daily Mail.
The Spanish intelligence service’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) used Litvinenko’s services in investigating possible Russian mafia ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Spanish newspaper El Pais reports, citing Ben Emmerson’s attorney for the widow of Marina Litvinenko, published in the British press.
According to the newspaper, 6 months before his death, Litvinenko "contacted the Spanish police to explain to them what role certain businessmen associated with the Russian mafia played." He spoke about the significance of some authorities of the mafia and the nature of their possible relations with the "high authorities of the Russian state."
"Investigators claim that the secret documents of the British government prove the alleged guilt of the Russian state in the death of Litvinenko," the article says. The main suspects are Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun.
The newspaper also recalls the information contained in the US Department of State dispatches, published by WikiLeaks. In 2008, the Spanish prosecutor Jose Grinda, at a meeting with American experts, called Belarus, Chechnya and Russia “real mafia states,” one of the dispatches quoted the newspaper. “According to WikiLeaks, Grinda referred to Alexander Litvinenko’s“ thesis ”that the FSB, the SVR and the GRU control criminal gangs. Grinda agreed with this thesis and said that the FSB “absorbs” the Russian mafia, ”the article says.
According to the newspaper, six months before his death, Litvinenko gave the Spanish police "information about Tariel Oniani, Zakhar Kalashov and Vitaly Izgilov" - the main figures in the Spanish police Avispa operation ("Wasp") in 2005.
Judging by the declassified documents, Alexander Litvinenko, eliminated with the help of radioactive polonium-210, was a triple agent: he worked for Moscow, London and Madrid, the Italian Corriere della Sera writes.
“No one doubts that he was killed by Russian special services,” the journalist said. “However, there was a lack of specific motives that would explain such a sophisticated and brutal murder. And now the British court may try to solve the mystery, as previously inaccessible documents appeared.” British 43-year-old analyst, ex-FSB officer, gave information about the colony of Russian oligarchs who settled in London, the financial and political network created by them in cooperation with the Kremlin. Madrid Litvinenko provided information about the investments of Russian mafia clans in Europe, the author writes.
By the time Poisoning Litvinenko was already in open conflict with the regime of President Putin, the publication said. In London, Litvinenko had a reviewer named Martin, an officer in MI-6, with whom a Russian agent spoke on a special phone. A few days before polonium poisoning, Litvinenko planned to visit Madrid with him and another key detective figure: former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy. "Apparently, he also collaborated with the Spaniards," - writes the correspondent.
In London, they are convinced that it was Lugovoy who was involved in the poisoning. But who is he, the English agent Martin, whose phone Litvinenko just before his death handed over to the police officer from Scotland Yard? Why was nothing known about him for six years? - the author of the article asks questions.
The German edition of Der Spiegel suggests that in the near future a new "little diplomatic war" will break out between Russia and Great Britain. As stated by the head of the group investigating the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the British government has materials that indisputably indicate Russia's involvement in the poisoning. It is planned that the official investigation of the case will begin on 1 May 2013.
Litvinenko died in the year 2006 from radioactive polonium-210 poisoning some time after meeting with another Russian counterintelligence agent Andrei Lugovoi, currently sitting in the State Duma and having immunity. British law enforcement officers began talking about involvement in the case of Andrei Lugovoy, as well as businessman Dmitry Kovtun, in 2006, when traces of polonium were found at Hamburg airport, where both Russians denying their involvement in the murder committed a transplant.
Before his death, Litvinenko clearly indicated that he had been poisoned by order of Vladimir Putin, the newspaper reminds.
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