The Litvinenko Inquiry

Part 6 | Chapters 1 to 8 | The polonium trail – events in October and November 2006
6.133 Discussion at the meeting centred on Mr Lugovoy and Mr Litvinenko’s continuing
investigations regarding the Stolichnaya case. Mr Lugovoy raised the possibility of
pressurising one of the Russian companies that was acting against Stolichnaya’s
interests by forcing its value down, a process he described as “greenmail”. Mr Quirke
stated that this was not a course that was subsequently pursued. 121
6.134 Towards the end of the meeting, Mr Kovtun gave the minidisc that he had been
operating to Mr Quirke, who stated that he subsequently passed it to the police. 122
6.135 The RISC offices were subsequently monitored for radiation and secondary
contamination was discovered at various places, including chairs in the boardroom. 123
The highest reading was registered on a CD. It seems likely that this was the minidisc
that Mr Kovtun gave to Mr Quirke during the meeting that I have just described.
Events of the evening of 17 October
6.136 It appears that after the meeting with Mr Quirke, Mr Lugovoy, Mr Kovtun and
Mr Litvinenko returned together to the Parkes Hotel. A witness statement from Alexey
Valuev was read in this regard. 124 Mr Valuev was the son of a business associate of
Mr Lugovoy. He explained that Mr Lugovoy had arranged to meet him at the hotel that
evening so that Mr Lugovoy could give him some money from his father. He recalled
Mr Lugovoy arriving back at the hotel with Mr Kovtun and Mr Litvinenko.
6.137 Mr Lugovoy, Mr Kovtun and Mr Litvinenko subsequently went out for the evening
in London. As part of their enquiries, the police traced the establishments that they
had visited. DI Mascall gave evidence that the three men had gone for dinner at a
Chinese restaurant named the Golden Dragon in Gerrard Street. There was evidence
that Mr Lugovoy paid the bill at the restaurant using his credit card at 9.49pm. Further
similar credit card evidence showed that the men then moved on to a bar named Cafe
Boheme in Old Compton Street. 125
6.138 Mr Litvinenko himself gave a brief description of the events of this evening in the
course of his interviews with the police whilst he was in hospital. He referred to going
to a Chinese restaurant and then to a pub in Soho. He said that he had only drunk
green tea and a glass of Coca-Cola at the restaurant. He said that the other two
had been drinking sake and had offered him some, but he had refused as “I don’t
drink alcohol generally”. It appears from Mr Litvinenko’s account that he went with
Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun to the Cafe Boheme, but on arrival he didn’t like the
place and decided to go home. He said that he travelled back to Muswell Hill on a
134 bus from Tottenham Court Road, arriving home at about 11.00pm. 126 The bus on
which Mr Litvinenko travelled that night was identified and tested; no radiation was
detected. 127
6.139 DI Mascall explained that further evidence from Mr Lugovoy’s credit card showed that
Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun had subsequently gone to a nightclub named Hey Jo,
where Mr Lugovoy purchased more drinks. The receipts make it clear that Mr Lugovoy
121
Quirke 11/94-97
122
Quirke 11/97-98
123
Mascall 11/131-132; INQ017934 (page 85)
124
Valuev 11/127-130
125
Mascall 11/132-136
126
INQ016615 (pages 1-4)
127
Mascall 11/136 see paragraphs 6.21-6.24 above for discussion regarding the value of such findings.
137