The widow of former Russian FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko has acknowledged that her husband collaborated with the British MI5 and MI6 intelligence services for huge fees.
According to Marina Litvinenko, the ex-spy supposedly consulted the secret agencies during operations to combat Russian organized crime in Europe. Having earlier denied any of her husband’s links to the Counter-Intelligence and Secret Intelligence services, the woman decided to disclose this information for the sake of transparency of the inquiry into his murder, as she put it herself. Statements to that effect have a specific background, primarily the desire to heat up Britain’s interest in the so-called Litvinenko case and to politicize the investigation. The widow’s vested interest is also more that obvious in view of the expensive legal services. If UK interests are proved to have been affected, Britain will probably defray all the expenses - about a million pounds.
Alexander Litvinenko died in November 2006 of radioactive polonium-210 poisoning shortly after having been provided with political asylum in the United Kingdom. The investigation then accused his former colleague Andrei Lugovoi of murder but never got an extradition permit from Moscow. Pursuant to the Russian Constitution, a citizen of the Russian Federation cannot be deported out of Russia or extradited to another state. The inquiry was frozen in 2007 to be reopened only in October this year.
The upcoming hearings will have to determine the extent of Litvinenko’s involvement in MI5 and MI6 activities. Andrei Lugovoi, for instance, is rather skeptical when it comes to organized crime-related issues:
"Five years ago, I made a statement concerning Litvinenko’s cooperation with the British intelligence, which was strongly denied by both his wife and Berezovsky, if you remember. I have only one question: why has it been acknowledged now? Unfortunately, Litvinenko’s widow is not telling the whole truth in an attempt to somehow shift the blame from her husband and make us believe in his involvement only in terms of organized crime issues. I think it’s a lie, especially given that neither MI5 nor MI6 are dealing with organized crime at all. These are two classical intelligence and counterintelligence secret services," says Andrei Lugovoi.
The resumed court hearings will also decide whether the inquiry should be only limited to direct circumstances surrounding Litvinenko’s death or cover all the reasons behind it to make the case fall under the superior court jurisdiction. The Russian side has right away declared its readiness to cooperate, with Andrei Lugovoi once again confirming his intention to answer any questions if the interrogation takes place in Russia. The British justice has been consistently avoiding this so far. However, the October 13th court session itself came as a surprise for Lugovoi and his lawyers:
"We were informed about this quite by chance, making those representing Berezovsky and Litvinenko’s wife astonished by the appearance of my lawyers in the courthouse. My evidence is a burr in the saddle for them. They never asked me to answer questions via video link - it was my initiative," Andrei Lugovoi says.
Judging by the latest reports, the ex-spy’s video interrogation will take place as early as this month. In view of the reopened hearings, the Russian Embassy in London issued a statement urging more attention to the lack of evidentiary support. Thus, all accusations of orchestrating Litvinenko’s murder brought against Moscow remain unsubstantiated; otherwise they would have long ago been disclosed, the Russian Embassy said. According to the diplomats, the Russian side has yet to receive the medical certificate of Alexander Litvinenko’s death. We are dealing with the obvious unilateralism of the British investigation which is sure of Moscow’s involvement in the case but rejects all of its cooperation appeals.
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