Germans Investigate Russian in Poisoning

The German allegations, however, will throw a fresh spotlight on the Russian investigation of the case. The Russian prosecutor general's office has opened its own inquiry into Litvinenko's death and said it was investigating Kovtun's poisoning as attempted murder.

Attempts to reach Russian officials at the Kremlin and the prosecutor general's office Sunday night were unsuccessful.

The German disclosures indicate that Kovtun was "with the murder weapon before Nov. 1," said Alex Goldfarb, who has been acting as a spokesman for the Litvinenko family in London. But he said Kovtun "had no motive to kill" Litvinenko, so the question remains, "Who hired him and equipped him?"

"It is clear all the tracks lead to Moscow," he said.

Kovtun, 41, first met Litvinenko on Oct. 16 in London, where the two were introduced by another Russian, Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB agent who attended a military academy with Kovtun in the 1980s. The three discussed possible business deals involving British companies interested in investing in the Russian market, according to a joint interview with Kovtun and Lugovoy on Echo Moskva radio in late November.

Both Litvinenko and Lugovoy at various times had close ties to exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, a declared enemy of Putin. Lugovoy was head of security for a television channel in Moscow owned by Berezovsky before he fled Russia in 2000 after clashing with Putin. And Litvinenko became a part of Berezovsky's circle in London when he fled Russia after accusing former colleagues in the Federal Security Service, or FSB, of corruption. His allegations had led Russian authorities to press criminal charges against him.

The three Russians met on Nov. 1 at the Millennium Hotel bar in central London. Seven hotel workers have tested positive for exposure to a radioactive substance. An Italian who met separately with Litvinenko the same day has also tested positive for radiation exposure, as has Litvinenko's wife.

Both Kovtun and Lugovoy have denied any involvement in Litvinenko's death.

Laying out a chronology of some of Kovtun's movements, German officials said he landed in Hamburg after flying from Moscow on Oct. 28. He was picked up in a BMW, which has tested positive for radiation, German investigators said.

On Oct. 29, Kovtun spent the night in Haselau, about 16 miles north of Hamburg, at the home of his former mother-in-law. The BMW was found at that location, German officials said, and initial tests detected radiation in the house.

On Oct. 30, Kovtun went to an administrative office for foreigners in Hamburg. Radiation has been detected on his file card, which he signed, German officials said. Neither the employee in the room nor the room itself tested positive. Kovtun has a German residence permit. He was still registered as a Hamburg resident, but police said he had not lived permanently at his listed address in an apartment building on Erzbergerstrasse for a couple of years.

Kovtun told Echo Moskva that he had started working as a business consultant in Moscow and that an enterprise had led to his discussions with Litvinenko.

Kovtun's former wife lives in the same building on Erzbergerstrasse where he was registered. On Oct. 31, Kovtun spent the night on her couch. Police said they found traces of radiation on the couch.

At 6:40 a.m. on Nov. 1, Kovtun took a Germanwings flight from Hamburg to London. The plane was examined yesterday at the Cologne-Bonn airport, but no contamination was detected. Police, explaining that apparent anomaly, said that had Kovtun showered, he might have washed away any trace. They also noted that the plane had been thoroughly cleaned since Kovtun traveled on it.

Finn reported from Moscow. Correspondent Mary Jordan in London contributed to this report.