Chapter 5: Work for the Spanish security services

¶4.92 I have made reference at paragraph 4.69 above to the assertion made by Mr Lugovoy

to the effect that Mr Litvinenko told him that he was working with the Spanish secret services against the Russian mafia operating in Spain, and moreover that Mr Litvinenko suggested to Mr Lugovoy that he join him in this work.

¶4.93 This account was corroborated by evidence that I heard from Marina Litvinenko and others during the oral hearings.

¶4.94 Marina Litvinenko said that she believed Mr Litvinenko's work with the Spanish

authorities had started in 2005 or at the end of 2004. She had been aware that he was making trips to Spain for that purpose, and also that at least one payment in respect of this work had been made into their joint account. She knew, too, that Mr Litvinenko was helping the Spanish authorities in combating Russian organised crime in Spain. She also knew that Mr Lugovoy had become involved in this exercise, because she knew that he had been due to accompany Mr Litvinenko on a trip to Spain on 10 November 2006. But Mrs Litvinenko was not aware of the detail of the work that Mr Litvinenko was doing in Spain – she said that, "Sasha didn't tell me a lot because he tried to save me."⁹¹⁹¹ Marina Litvinenko 3/119-120 Marina Litvinenko 3/155-157; 4/120 Mascall 17/79-80

¶4.95 It would appear from a witness statement that Mr Berezovsky gave to the Metropolitan

Police Service in December 2006 that Mr Litvinenko had shared at least some of these details with Mr Berezovsky. The statement included the following passage:

"I know that he [i.e. Mr Litvinenko] also collected some money from cooperation with the Spanish intelligence service. He was helping them regarding the Russian mafia. I understand his wife also received some money.

Twice in September 2006, he told me that he had helped the Spanish intelligence agency to arrest a top Russian mafia boss operating in Spain called Shakuro. He also told me that he was working on some intelligence relating to Roman Abramovich. This was likely to see him arrested in Spain for money laundering and buying land illegally. This also involves Putin."⁹²⁹² Marina Litvinenko 3/142-143 Berezovsky 25/13 Mascall 17/80-81

¶4.96 Mr Goldfarb gave evidence that he had had two conversations with Mr Litvinenko

about the work that the latter said that he was undertaking with the Spanish security services. First, Mr Goldfarb said that in 2005 Mr Litvinenko had suggested that Mr Trepashkin, who had briefly been released from prison, might leave Russia and go to live in Spain, where he would be able to arrange work for him with the Spanish authorities.93 The second conversation that Mr Goldfarb recalled took place in 2006. The notable feature of that conversation was that Mr Litvinenko told Mr Goldfarb that one day he would give evidence in court about Mr Putin's links to the mafia.94

¶4.97 The evidence that Mr Litvinenko may have been assisting the Spanish authorities

with operations against Russian organised crime figures in Spain, and in particular Mr Goldfarb's recollection that he was anticipating giving evidence in court about

¶Part 4 | Chapters 1 to 6 | Why would anyone wish to kill Alexander Litvinenko?

these matters, is also consistent with a number of documents that I admitted into evidence. Mr Goldfarb referred to the contents of these documents when giving oral evidence.95

¶4.98 A US diplomatic cable dated 31 August 2009 published on the Wikileaks website96

described two operations, codenamed Avispa and Troika, that the Spanish authorities carried out against members of Russian organised crime groups in or about 2005 and 2006. The cable referred to allegations made in the Spanish press that Mr Litvinenko had; "tipped off Spanish security officials on the location, roles and activities of several 'Russian' mafia figures with ties to Spain." The cable went on to assert that Mr Litvinenko "allegedly provided information on Izguilov, Zakhar Kalashov and Tariel Oniani to GOS [Government of Spain] officials during a May 2006 meeting."

¶4.99 A further US cable published on Wikileaks appears to provide further support to the

idea that Mr Litvinenko was assisting Spanish authorities in their investigations into Russian organised crime. This cable, dated 8 February 2010,97 refers to the Spanish prosecutor heading the investigation, named Jose Grinda Gonzales, quoting what he described as a "thesis" by Mr Litvinenko. The 'thesis' was that: "the Russian intelligence and security services … the FSB, the SVR and the GRU – control organised crime in Russia." The cable further records Mr Grinda as having stated that he himself, "believes this thesis is accurate".

¶4.100 If Mr Litvinenko did provide the type of assistance to the Spanish authorities that was

described in the evidence that I have summarised above – and in particular if it is true that he was due to give evidence about these matters in court – the question that arises for the purposes of this Inquiry is whether there could have been any connection between those matters and his death. Is it possible, for example, that Mr Litvinenko was killed in order either to punish him for assisting the Spanish authorities, or to prevent him offering any further assistance, including perhaps giving evidence in court? I shall return to this issue below.

¶The Litvinenko Inquiry