Spy death: Police seal off Russian tycoon Berezovsky's offices » Central Government » 24dash.com

Police investigating the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko have sealed off the offices of an exiled billionaire following the discovery of traces of a deadly radioactive substance.

Evidence of polonium 210 were found in the London office of his friend, the tycoon Boris Berezovsky.

Last night police also sealed off the headquarters of an international security company visited by Mr Litvinenko after finding traces of the substance.

Scotland Yard said traces of the substance were found at 7 Down Street and 25 Grosvenor Street, as they continued to probe Mr Litvinenko's death from radiation poisoning on Thursday evening.

A "significant quantity" of polonium 210 was found in Mr Litvinenko's urine following extensive tests by forensic toxicologists.

The new finds come after traces of the substance were also detected at the Itsu sushi restaurant in Piccadilly, the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square - both visited by Mr Litvinenko - as well as his home in Muswell Hill, north London.

Three people have also been sent for radiological tests as a precautionary measure following the radiation poisoning of Mr Litvinenko, Home Secretary John Reid said yesterday.

Mr Litvinenko was a fierce critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Scotland Yard said only that traces of polonium 210 had been found at offices at 7 Down Street and 25 Grosvenor Street but Mr Litvinenko's friend Alex Goldfarb confirmed yesterday that the address in Down Street was the office of Mr Berezovsky.

Erinys, the security and risk management company, also confirmed yesterday that Mr Litvinenko had visited its offices in Grosvenor Street.

Mr Goldfarb said: "I have been to that office many times, Mr Litvinenko did and everyone who was friends with Mr Berezovsky because that's his principal place of business in London.

"I find nothing surprising in that."

Mr Berezovsky was not available for comment last night.

Erinys said: "Mr Alexander Litvinenko visited the offices of Erinys on the 4th floor of 25 Grosvenor Street, London, W1 on a matter totally unrelated to issues now being investigated by the police.

"In the light of recent events, the company immediately contacted the police to tell them of his visit.

"The authorities are following appropriate procedures, as they have done at all locations Mr Litvinenko is known to have visited.

"None of our staff with whom he had contact have suffered any ill effects.

"We will make no further comment on this matter and any inquiries should be directed to the Metropolitan Police."

Mr Berezovsky was known to be close to Mr Litvinenko and visited him in hospital before his death.

After one visit last week he said: "He personally thinks that it was organised in Moscow and Putin gave the order to poison him because he is former KGB."

The Kremlin has denied any involvement, and Mr Reid yesterday urged caution, emphasising that the police were not yet saying Mr Litvinenko had been killed.

"The police have been very careful in the words they have used, they are dealing with a suspicious death," he told MPs.

"We are not yet at the stage that there is definitely a third party involved in this."

He also said that one area of the intensive care unit at University College Hospital, where Mr Litvinenko died, remained closed.

All other areas at the hospitals which had treated Mr Litvinenko were functioning as normal on the advice of the Health Protection Agency, he said.

Mr Reid said the Russian authorities had been asked to provide "all necessary co-operation" with the investigation and that the country's ambassador had been called to the Foreign Office last week.

The former spy was taken ill on November 1 after visiting the Millennium Hotel and the Itsu restaurant.

His death sparked radiation fears in London with customers who visited either place on that day asked to contact the NHS Direct helpline.

The line has since received more than 450 calls from people worried that they could have been contaminated.

A total of 18 were referred to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which in turn referred three for tests at a specialist clinic as a "precautionary measure".

Scotland Yard declined to comment on whether detectives were investigating possible links to a crash in France in which another Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, 40, was injured.

A 31-year-old woman also reportedly suffered burns in the crash in Nice on Saturday.

The Sun reported that Mr Kerimov was to be given radiology tests.

Daily Mirror reporter Graham Brough said today he was the fourth person to be sent for radiological tests after he tracked down and interviewed Professor Mario Scaramella in hiding in Italy.

Prof Scaramella met Mr Litvinenko in the Itsu restaurant the day the former Russian spy fell ill, on November 1.

The environmental professor from Naples is said to have given Mr Litvinenko a list outlining an alleged plot to assassinate several people, including himself and Mr Litvinenko.

"After talking to Scotland Yard, I called the NHS Direct like the other 450 concerned people," he wrote in the Daily Mirror.

"They asked a series of questions, then homed in on the fact that Scaramella's palm had been slightly sweaty when I shook hands."

Copyright Press Association 2006.