Interpol joins Litvinenko poisoning inquiry

MOSCOW – International police agency Interpol is helping coordinate the investigation into the poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, with a trail now running through Germany, Russia and Britain.

The head of Interpol’s Russian office said on Tuesday the 186-country organisation had been asked to improve the flow of information between the three countries, which have launched their own probes into Litvinenko’s death. Litvinenko died in a London hospital on November 23 after exposure to radioactive polonium 210.In a statement associates released after his death, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his killing.The Kremlin denies involvement.”Interpol will be called on, and is already being called on, for the speedy exchange of information between various countries,” Itar-Tass news agency quoted Interpol’s Russian office chief Timur Lakhonin as saying.A spokeswoman for the French-based Interpol noted the case was international and “Interpol can therefore offer and provide international assistance between the countries”.The three investigations have sent British investigators to Russia to question people who met Litvinenko, and Russian newspapers have reported that Russian prosecutors might be preparing to fly to London to conduct interviews.A German prosecutor has said Russian businessman Dmitry Kovtun, who met Litvinenko on the day he fell ill and who is now in hospital in Moscow, could be a possible suspect in the case.Kovtun denies any part in Litvinenko’s poisoning.Kovtun told a German broadcaster he must have picked up traces of polonium from Litvinenko when he met him in London in mid-October.”The only explanation for the traces of polonium I can give is that I brought them with me from London when I met Alexander Litvinenko there on October 16, 17 and 18,” Kovtun told Spiegel TV.Nampa-ReutersLitvinenko died in a London hospital on November 23 after exposure to radioactive polonium 210.In a statement associates released after his death, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his killing.The Kremlin denies involvement.”Interpol will be called on, and is already being called on, for the speedy exchange of information between various countries,” Itar-Tass news agency quoted Interpol’s Russian office chief Timur Lakhonin as saying.A spokeswoman for the French-based Interpol noted the case was international and “Interpol can therefore offer and provide international assistance between the countries”.The three investigations have sent British investigators to Russia to question people who met Litvinenko, and Russian newspapers have reported that Russian prosecutors might be preparing to fly to London to conduct interviews.A German prosecutor has said Russian businessman Dmitry Kovtun, who met Litvinenko on the day he fell ill and who is now in hospital in Moscow, could be a possible suspect in the case.Kovtun denies any part in Litvinenko’s poisoning.Kovtun told a German broadcaster he must have picked up traces of polonium from Litvinenko when he met him in London in mid-October.”The only explanation for the traces of polonium I can give is that I brought them with me from London when I met Alexander Litvinenko there on October 16, 17 and 18,” Kovtun told Spiegel TV.Nampa-Reuters