Andrey Lugovoy

Andrei Lugovoi (Lugovoy) (Russian: Андрей Луговой) (Born 1966 in Azerbaijan SSR ) is a former KGB operative and millionaire who met with Alexander Litvinenko on the day Litvinenko fell ill (1 November, 2006). Litvinenko died later in November from radiation poisoning caused by polonium-210, and on 22 May 2007 British officials charged Lugovoi with Litvinenko's murder, announcing they would seek his extradition from Russia. However, a Russian official stated it was against the Russian constitution to perform extraditions of Russian citizens. Lugovoi returned to Moscow, Russia, after his visit to London, and has resided there ever since as a free man. So far he has not been charged in Russia with any offense. On September 15, 2007, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, has announced that Andrei Lugovoi will be in the second place after Zhirinovsky on his party's candidate list for the Duma election. This means that Andrei Lugovoi could become a Russian MP in December 2007 and acquire parliamentary immunity.

Lugovoi had visited London at least three times in the month before Litvinenko's death and met with him four times. Traces of polonium-210 have been discovered in all three hotels where Lugovoi stayed after flying to London on 16 October, in the Pescatori restaurant in Dover Street, Mayfair, where Lugovoi is understood to have dined before 1 November, and aboard two aircraft on which he had travelled. He has declined to say whether he had been contaminated with polonium-210, the substance that led to Litvinenko's death on 23 November 2006.

KGB career

In 1987 Lugovoi joined the KGB's 9th directorate which provided security for top state officials. He was a platoon commander for five years and then served as a commander in the Kremlin regiment's training company. In 1991 he was transferred to the personal security unit until his resignation at the end of 1996. During his time in the KGB he provided security for Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, the head of the presidential administration Sergey Filatov and Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev.

Lugovoi went on to work in the private security business. For several years he was head of security at the private television company ORT, then owned by now fugitive tycoons Boris Berezovsky and Badri Patarkatsishvili. In 2001 Lugovoi was arrested and charged with organizing the escape of Nikolai Glushkov, a former deputy director-general of Aeroflot arrested in 2000 on fraud charges.

Lugovoi's company Pershin is involved in private security, soft drinks and wine, and is said to be worth over £100 million.

Alexander Litvinenko poisoning

Main article: Alexander Litvinenko poisoning

• On 30 November 2006 Georgian tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili described Lugovoi as a "close friend" with whom he had been working for 13 years. He said he hoped Lugovoi was innocent, but added that there is "no such thing as a former KGB agent".
• On 4 December 2006 Lugovoi visited a hospital in Moscow for medical tests.
• On 9 December 2006 Lugovoi was released from the hospital and declared to be in "satisfactory condition."
• On 26 January 2007 The Guardian reported that the British government was preparing an extradition request asking that Lugovoi be returned to the UK to stand trial for Litvinenko's murder.
• On 5 February 2007 Boris Berezovsky told the BBC that on his deathbed, Litvinenko said that Lugovoi was responsible for his poisoning.
• On 22 May 2007 British officials said they had called for an arrest warrant against Andrei Lugovoi in Litvinenko’s death.
• On 28 May 2007 the British Foreign Office formally submitted a request for Lugovoi's extradition to the Russian Government.

Murder charges

• On May 22, 2007 Britain's Director of Public Prosecutions announced that Britain would seek extradition of Lugovoi and attempt to charge him with murdering Litvinenko. Russia has previously stated that it has no right to allow the extradition of any Russian citizen for trial in Britain.
• On May 28, 2007 a formal extradition request was given to Russia by Britain. This was confirmed by both the British embassy in Moscow and the Russian prosecution office.
  • Lugovoi is quoted as saying he is a "victim not a perpetrator of a radiation attack", and he has called the charges "politically motivated".
  • The Constitution of Russia, like that of France, Germany, Austria, China and Japan, forbids extradition of its citizens to foreign countries (Art. 61), so the request cannot be fulfilled. Russian citizens can be convicted of crimes committed abroad by Russian courts in case foreign law agencies provide necessary evidence.
• On May 31, 2007 Lugovoi held a news conference at which he accused MI6 of attempting to recruit him and blamed either MI6, the Russian mafia, or fugitive Kremlin opponent Boris Berezovsky for the killing.
• On July 4, 2007 Russia formally declined a UK request to extradite Lugovoi.

External links

• Mysterious Personage in Litvinenko's Case
• Photos
• Doctors suspect Gaidar was poisoned
• Profile: Andrei Lugovoi. Prime suspect - or key witness? by Ian Cobain
• Litvinenko’s Business Contact Denies Role in Poisoning Plot
• Spy Death Interview In Full
• Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun Interview on Ekho Moskvy
• Russian's account further clouds poisoning mystery
• The Laboratory 12 poison plot
• Andrei Lugovoi - the interview
• Excerpts: Lugovoi news conference
• "Accused Murderer of Former Russian Spy Says The Brits Did It...Or Know Who Did". ABC News. May 31,2007.
• Press conference of Dmitry Kovtun and Andrey Lugovoy