In search of Litvinenkos killer

last updated 8 January 2015

Hamburg, Germany

The investigation into the murder of Russian ex-agent Alexander Litvinenko has widened from London, where he died of radiation poisoning, to Germany and Russia. German police said they found traces of polonium-210 in and around Hamburg, in locations where Russian businessman Dmitry Kovtun had been before he flew to London. Kovtun was one of two Russians who met with Litvinenko in London the day he was poisoned. Now ill with radiation poisoning in a Moscow hospital, Kovtun said he must have been exposed by Litvinenko. But German police confirmed that Kovtun was exposed days prior to the meeting. "He may not only be a victim, but could also be a perpetrator," said Hamburg prosecutor Martin Koehnke. Interpol, the international police network, said it was coordinating information from British, German, and Russian investigations.