The Litvinenko Inquiry

Part 6 | Chapters 1 to 8 | The polonium trail – events in October and November 2006
Chapter 3: Dmitri Kovtun
6.25 Before commencing on this stage of the narrative, it is necessary to introduce another
of the key figures in the events surrounding Mr Litvinenko’s death – Dmitri Kovtun.
6.26 Mr Kovtun is, with Mr Lugovoy, wanted by the British authorities on suspicion of the
murder of Mr Litvinenko. In common with Mr Lugovoy, a warrant has been issued for
his arrest. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to extradite both men to the UK.
6.27 Mr Kovtun did not initially show any interest in taking part in these proceedings (unlike
Mr Lugovoy, who was for a time represented as an interested person in the inquest).
The attempts made by the Inquiry to contact Mr Kovtun in Russia and to seek his
participation were met with silence. However, at the very end of the Inquiry’s open
hearings, Mr Kovtun wrote to the Solicitor to the Inquiry and said that he wished to
give evidence. In keeping with my desire for this Inquiry to be as full as possible,
arrangements were made to enable Mr Kovtun to give evidence. Closing submissions
were put back, further hearings were arranged and video link facilities in Moscow
were established. One of the requirements that I set for Mr Kovtun giving evidence
was that he provide the Inquiry with a detailed written witness statement. He complied
with this requirement. In the end, however, Mr Kovtun did not give oral evidence on
the days that had been set aside for this purpose. The events leading to Mr Kovtun’s
decision not to give evidence were complicated, and I do not propose to go into them
here. They are set out in observations that I made at the time. 10
6.28 Although Mr Kovtun did not in the end give oral evidence and submit himself to
questioning, there is a range of evidence available to me about his background and
about his involvement in the events that led to Mr Litvinenko’s death. Mr Kovtun has
given his own account in a number of press interviews and also, as I have mentioned,
in the statement that he provided to the Inquiry. And there are also other witnesses
who have given evidence about Mr Kovtun.
6.29 Mr Kovtun was born in Moscow in 1965. 11 I received evidence from a number of
sources that Mr Kovtun’s father, like Mr Lugovoy’s, had been a senior officer in the
Russian military, and that the two men had known each other as children as a result of
this connection. For example, in his June 2015 witness statement, Mr Kovtun stated:
“I have known A.K. Lugovoy since 1978 or 1979. We lived in the same building
where my family and his family were given flats at the same time. Our fathers were
friends and worked together at the Army General HQ of the USSR Armed Forces.
We were pupils at different schools – I am actually 1 year older than Lugovoy – but
we spent a great deal of time together as children, visited each other, exchanged
books, etc.” 12
6.30 Mr Kovtun’s statement goes on to assert that he attended the same military school as
Mr Lugovoy for several years. He left in 1986 and joined the Russian army. He was
posted first to Czechoslovakia and then to Parchim in what was then East Germany.
6.31 In 1991, while he was still posted in Parchim, Mr Kovtun married his first wife, who is
now called Inna Hohne. Ms Hohne lives in Germany and did not respond to requests
10
Chairman 32/4-19
11
Mr Kovtun states that he is one year older than Mr Lugovoy in his 2 June 2015 witness statement
INQ021208 (page 6). There is evidence that Mr Lugovoy was born in 1966.
12
INQ021208 (page 6)
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