The Litvinenko Inquiry

Part 5 | Chapters 1 to 8 | Alexander Litvinenko’s final months
d. Dr Svetlichnaya made contact with Mr Litvinenko in late March or early April 2006.
They subsequently met six or seven times between the end of April and the end
of May. The meetings took place in various locations, including itsu in Piccadilly,
Hyde Park, Mr Litvinenko’s house and the Park Lane Hilton Hotel. Mr Zakayev
was present at the last meeting 35
5.54 There is one particular element of Dr Svetlichnaya’s evidence that is of potential
relevance to the issue of blackmail. Dr Svetlichnya was taken through this part of her
evidence with some care when she gave oral testimony at the Inquiry. What she told
me, in summary, was that during the course of her meetings with Mr Litvinenko, he said
that he had plans to take action against a group of wealthy Russians. The intention
that he expressed appeared to be to obtain secret files relating to these individuals
and then to blackmail them. Dr Svetlichnaya told me that this was a recurring theme
of their conversations. 36 She said that the expression used by Mr Litvinenko was
that he would “force them to share”, meaning their money – she also said that he
mentioned blackmail, and that he also talked of selling sensitive information. 37 She
said Mr Litvinenko talked of his intention to demand payment of US$10,000 from each
individual. Dr Svetlichnaya was asked what Mr Litvinenko had said about his intended
targets and she replied, “I can just quote him: bastards, bastards from the Kremlin,
bastards like Abramovich. That kind of person.” 38
5.55 I emphasise at this stage that I have taken into account only the evidence that Dr
Svetlichnaya gave to me orally. Although there are a number of newspaper articles in
evidence that purport to give her account of her meetings with Mr Litvinenko, I have
disregarded them as it became clear when she gave evidence before me that those
articles misrepresent her account in significant respects.
5.56 The view that I have taken is that Dr Svetlichnaya’s evidence does not assist me in
reaching my conclusions about Mr Litvinenko’s death. I have taken that view for the
following reasons.
5.57 First, the principal allegation that has been raised – by Mr Lugovoy – is that
Mr Litvinenko may have been blackmailing Mr Berezovsky. Dr Svetlichnaya did not
say that Mr Litvinenko mentioned Mr Berezovsky as one of the intended targets of his
“force to share” plans, and moreover the description of his intended targets that he
did give to Dr Svetlichnaya – “bastards from the Kremlin” – would not appear to have
included Mr Berezovsky.
5.58 Second, although on Dr Svetlichnaya’s account Mr Litvinenko was clearly describing
some sort of blackmail plans, those plans would appear still to have been at an
early stage only weeks before he became ill. Dr Svetlichnaya did not suggest that
Mr Litvinenko told her that he had actually implemented any of these plans, or that he
had even started to implement them.
35
Svetlichnaya 25/82-98
36
Svetlichnaya 25/105
37
Svetlichnaya 25/102-104; 25/116
38
Svetlichnaya 25/103-104
99