was a former fsb federal security service operative who fled to britain and was helping the british security services there when in 2006 he met some former colleagues from russia, had a cup of tea with them in the lobby of a hotel and he became sick very shortly afterwards and it was identified the substance that poisoned him as being this very rare radioactive substance called polonium 210, originates in specific kinds of nuks of nu rea reactors. there was a reactive trail plotting their journey. other people in britain and london were contaminated as well with this polonium 210 because it left that kind of that kind of a trail. in 2016 there was a public inquiry in britain that identified the russian security services as being responsible and this latest ruling in the
close to the source of putin s personal wealth would have been by far the most dangerous things that he could do. reporter: in addition to a possible motive there was also the means. paul joyal says the fact that polonium was used to kill litvinenko leaves little doubt as to who authorized the murder. so does that mean it had to be putin? it could have been someone else with access to come on, come on, you re not going to engage in an act of nuclear terrorism in downtown london without the knowledge of the office of the president. today we begin the open hearings in the inquiry into the death of alexander litvinenko. reporter: in january 2015, a public inquiry opened in london. it s a victory for marina, who, along with her attorneys, fought not eight-year legal battle to make it happen. on the opening day, her attorney argued the evidence leads to one disturbing conclusion, which litvinenko himself reached before he died.
scaramella says that s why he met with litvinenko in london, to tell him about the hit list, to warn him. but, he says, litvinenko didn t buy it. he said, mario, don t care about that. he says it s b.s. i think it s just a provocation, but please check what s happening. but after what happened to litvinenko, scaramella says he takes the hit list seriously. are you frightened for your life? well do you have another question? scotland yard questioned scaramella and eventually cleared him. why? because if you re looking for it, polonium is traceable. using specialized equipment, investigators were able to track it in people and in places. once polonium 210 had been identified, then across europe, like the slime from a slug all the way across, polonium was popping up everywhere. but not in scaramella. no polonium in his body or anywhere he d been.
several times in london to discuss doing business there together including that now infamous meeting in the pine bar where scotland yard says litvinenko was poisoned. lugovoi says the meeting was no big deal. so what do you remember about sitting there at the table? translator: i remember that we talked with litvinenko about nothing in particular. and now for eight years, i am under suspicion. you re under suspicion because the investigation says there was polonium in that teapot. did you put any polonium in the tea? translator: of course not. i was tested for polonium, and i tested positive. did i put polonium into myself? am i an idiot? am i crazy? but scotland yard detectives don t believe lugovoi s denials. in fact, they think he tried to kill litvinenko more than once. that s because they found polonium on the table in a
a few weeks after litvinenko died of polonium poisoning, kovtun was hospitalized and lost all his hair. he hasn t been seen publicly since 2012. that left lugovoi. when we got here, he didn t want to speak to us, but on the second day of our trip, he called and said he was ready to talk. coming up, we ask the question the world wants answered. did you put polonium in the tea? when dateline continues. a? when dateline continues oh, come on! sriracha? woo! don t fight your cravings. eat em. all the flavors you crave in a superfood. blue diamond almonds. crave victoriously. geico would like to take a moment to say thank you to our military service members at home and abroad for all their hard work and sacrifice. we all sleep easier knowing you re out there