Germans say Berlin clue to polonium man was 'false trail'

Dec 14, 2006, 16:00 GMT

Hamburg - German police confirmed Thursday they followed a 'false trail' to Berlin this week as they continued a major inquiry into polonium contamination by Russian businessman Dmitry Kovtun.

Mysterious polonium smudges left by Kovtun have turned up all over the German city of Hamburg, which Kovtun visited before the November 23 poisoning death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko.

The German police refused to comment on speculation in news media that both men might have been involved in nuclear smuggling.

German police say they want proof of claims that Kovtun is currently in Moscow suffering from polonium poisoning, along with proof that he, rather than an actor in dark glasses, gave phone and TV interviews this week claiming innocence of Litvinenko's death.

The police, who are asking the public to report all sightings of Kovtun, confirmed they followed a lead this week to Berlin.

Police spokeswoman Ulrike Sweden said, 'We did not find any evidence that Kovtun was in Berlin at that or any other point in time.' She said the search was prompted by a tip-off but declined to give other details. 'It turned out to be a false trail,' she said.

Scotland Yard detectives in Moscow have been seeking a meeting with Kovtun.

A newspaper, Berliner Morgenpost, claimed Thursday police listened in on a phone call by Kovtun to his Russian-born mother-in-law in Hamburg and found technical data suggesting he was speaking from a mobile phone in Berlin on Monday night.

Rejecting this, the police said, 'The truth is that there was a tip-off from Berlin which turned out to be a false trail.'