LONDON, November 28 (RIA Novosti) - British police said Tuesday they had found traces of a radioactive isotope believed to have killed a Russian ex-spy, in an office building of his associate, fugitive Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.
Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian intelligence defector, died Thursday in a London hospital with symptoms of radioactive poisoning. British health officials said Friday a large dose of Po-210, a toxic uranium by-product, had been found in his body.
Berezovsky, a billionaire with British citizenship wanted in Russia for fraud, whose office is located at 7 Down Street, Mayfair, declined to comment on the radiation discovery.
"I will make no comments until Scotland Yard finishes its investigation. Let others comment, I will wait," he said over the phone.
The businessman also declined to say whether he had been questioned by police.
Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, who defected from Russia's security service in 2000 and became a British national in October, reportedly visited the building to make a copy of documents he had received from an Italian contact, Mario Scaramella, on November 1.
Litvinenko said Scaramella had sent him an e-mail relating to an investigation into the killing of his friend, investigative journalist and Kremlin opponent Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in Moscow in October.
Polonium-210 radiation traces have also been discovered at 25 Grosvenor Square, about 400 yards from Millenium Hotel where Litvinenko met with his Russian contacts on November 1.
Nikolai Kovalev, former head of the KGB's successor, the FSB, said the discovery of polonium in Berezovsky's office could imply his involvement in Litvinenko's death.
"Boris Berezovsky's involvement has been further proved," Kovalev said, adding that Berezovsky and Litvinenko could have been preparing an operation using polonium.
After Litvinenko died, the Western press circulated a statement allegedly written by him, in which Litvinenko accused the Kremlin of orchestrating his death.
"The ultimate target of the operation could have been to promote KGB phobia, and to show that Russia is ruled by KGB people," said Kovalev, also a member of parliament.
Kovalev said Berezovsky, if he is involved in the incident, had already taken care of his alibi and would now accuse special services of trying to kill him.
"He is keeping silent, which means he is preparing for a news conference where he will say he had expected polonium traces to be found in his office, and will start saying on all corners that the special services tried to kill him," Kovalev said.
Kovalev said Litvinenko could have neglected safety rules in handling a polonium container.
"The container was handed over to Litvinenko, but the curious young man got into it or did something wrong, contrary to Berezovsky's scenario," he said.
Another possibility, he said, could be that Berezovsky deliberately poisoned Litvinenko.
"I do not rule it out that there was some plan aimed against Litvinenko," Kovalev said. "Perhaps, Boris Abramovich [Berezovsky's patronymic] wanted to kill several birds with one stone."
