Litvinenko case witnesses seek compensation

TWO businessmen who had met with former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko in London on the day he fell ill said yesterday they would seek compensation from a charity created by his friends and widow.

Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun were questioned by Scotland Yard investigators in connection with the November 23 death of Litvinenko, who was poisoned with polonium-210 after meeting with them in a London bar. Both men deny any involvement in Litvinenko’s death.

Litvinenko, a fierce Kremlin critic who had been granted asylum in Britain, blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death in a deathbed statement. The Kremlin has angrily denied the accusations.

Lugovoi and Kovtun, who were exposed to radiation, said they would seek compensation from the Litvinenko Justice Foundation, an organisation created this week by tycoon Boris Berezovsky, Litvinenko’s widow, and friend Alex Goldfarb.

Goldfarb angrily dismissed the men’s demands, describing it as part of the Kremlin-sponsored cover-up.