Part 9: Who directed the killing?

Part 9: Who directed the killing?

Chapter 1: Introduction

¶9.1 I have made the finding that Mr Litvinenko was poisoned by Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun.

¶9.2 However, this immediately raises a further question. There is no evidence at all

that either Mr Lugovoy or Mr Kovtun had any personal reason to kill Mr Litvinenko. Mr Lugovoy may have commented after Mr Litvinenko's death that he regarded Mr Litvinenko as a traitor, but I do not think for a moment that that feeling on its own would have been sufficient to motivate Mr Lugovoy to plan and conduct the protracted and costly operation against Mr Litvinenko that I have outlined above. Moreover, had Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun been acting on their own behalf, it seems highly unlikely that they would have had access to the polonium 210 that they used to poison Mr Litvinenko. All the evidence points in one direction, namely that, when they killed Mr Litvinenko, Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun were acting on behalf of someone else.

¶9.3 This Part will address the question of who directed Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun to kill

¶Mr Litvinenko.

¶9.4 The structure of this Part will be as follows.

¶9.5 In Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 I will consider whether any of

the individuals and organisations listed at paragraphs 17, 19,²⁰²⁰ Zakayev 26/137-138; 26/140-141 Berezovsky v RTR & Terluk [2010] EWHC 476 (QB); Terluk v Berezovsky [2011] EWCA Civ 1534 INQ001788 (pages 21-22 paragraphs 127-128) Marina Wall 32/58 Bull 21/213-256 INQ006067 (page 5 paragraph 31) and 21 of the List of Issues (see Appendix 3) (i.e. Boris Berezovsky, United Kingdom (UK) intelligence agencies, organised crime groups, Mario Scaramella, Chechen groups and Alexander Talik) had any involvement in Mr Litvinenko's death.

¶9.6 In Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 I will analyse the

evidence relating to various aspects of the issue at paragraph 18 of the List of Issues – the possible involvement of Russian State agencies in Mr Litvinenko's death.

¶9.7 In Chapter 11 I will set out my conclusions on the issue of Russian State responsibility for Mr Litvinenko's death.

¶9.8 In Chapter 12 I will address one further issue, namely whether Nikolai Patrushev (the

head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2006) and/or President Putin bear any responsibility for Mr Litvinenko's death.

¶9.9 The factual content of these chapters will be drawn from the open evidence (I have

analysed the closed evidence in Part 7). I stress, however, that, as with Part 8, the findings that I make below will be based on both the open and the closed evidence that I have heard.

¶The Litvinenko Inquiry