06.12.2006
Israeli Secret Services Join in the Investigation of Litvinenko's Case
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Sami Rosen, AIA Israeli section
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| Leonid Nevzlin |
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A group of Israeli secret servicemen came to London earlier this week, AIA sources report. They are going to render assistance to the British police and the MI5 in the investigation of ex-FSB lieutenant-colonel Alexander Litvinenko’s death. American secret services joined in the investigation last week.
The British are interested in getting the materials collected by the Israelis about the former Russian oligarchs who are opposing President Putin and are residing in the West. MI5 attaches particular importance to information about activity of the Russian secret services against the Kremlin opponents living in Israel. The British assume that their Israeli colleagues have accumulated a broad experience in this issue, as the majority of the disgraced Russian oligarchs are in some way connected with Israel. The most distinguishing against the general background are former co-owners and board members of the Yukos oil giant, Leonid Nevzlin, Mikhail Brudno, and Vladimir Dubov. They immigrated to Israel in the summer of 2003, and in the period from November of the same year to February 2004, all three of them got Israeli citizenship. Since January 2004, Moscow has been constantly demanding their extradition.
Boris Berezovsky, who is considered the main opponent of the present Russia’s authority, also held Israeli citizenship in the period from the late 1993 till the late 1996. He renounced his Israeli citizenship after becoming a civil servant in Russia – he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Security Council. In the second half of the 1990s Berezovsky was one of the most influential figures in the Russian political and financial establishment. After Vladimir Putin was elected the president, in 2000, Berezovsky left Russia, and got a political refuge in the UK, in autumn 2003. In the last years Berezovsky repeatedly visited Israel, keeping in touch with some other disgraced oligarchs residing in this country.
MI5 officers are convinced that in Israel, the same way as it is in Britain, activity of the Kremlin’s famous opponents is under a close attention of the Russian secret services. Moreover, the British counterintelligence servicemen don’t exclude a possibility that some violent acts could have been planned against the Israeli-Russian oligarchs (not necessarily in the territory of Israel, but, for example, during their trips to the UK). It is mentioned in this connection that as early as in December 2003, retired FSB Major General Aleksei Kondaurov made a public statement about the alleged Russian secret services’ plan to forcedly abduct one of the Yukos shareholders from Israel.
Israelis have their own interest in investigating Litvinenko’s death. First of all, they want to check out the extent of credibility of the theory about the Russian secret services’ involvement. If this theory proves to be true, that will mean that there is no guarantee that such operations won’t be carried out in Israel. However, even a bigger interest is attached by the Israelis to the origin of the radioactive substance (polonium-210) applied to poison Litvinenko, and to the way this substance was delivered to London. There is a concern in Israel that this incident, which resulted in quite a broad exposure of civilians to radiation, will serve as an example to the Islamic radicals aiming at carrying out terrorist attacks against the Israeli citizens.
Related items:
Israeli Police Accounted for the Secret Services on Litvinenko’s Case
Western Secret Serviceman of Putin's Main Rival
Mysterious Personage in Litvinenko's Case (05.12.06)
Alexander Litvinenko: Complete Profile (24.11.06)
Litvinenko's Poisoning: Detailed Unfolding of Events (24.11.06)
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