German prosecutors opened an investigation into a Russian associate of the murdered former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko as traces of the radioactive substance polonium were found in properties he used, the Reuters news agency reported Sunday.

Martin Koehnke, Hamburg’s Chief Prosecutor has stated officially that Russian businessman Dmitry Kovtun, who met Litvinenko in London on the day he fell ill, is being investigated on suspicion of illegally handling radioactive material.

There was “a reasonable basis for suspicion that he may not just be a victim but could also be a perpetrator”, Koehnke said.

Traces of polonium-210 were found on a sofa and in the bathroom of Kovtun’s ex-wife’s apartment in the northern Germany city of Hamburg and in a house nearby, belonging to Kovtun’s former mother-in-law.

Kovtun had visited both places between October 28 when he arrived in Hamburg and November 1, the day of his departure for London. The plane Kovtun flew on to London was also checked but no traces were found.

Litvinenko died on November 23 after receiving a lethal dose of polonium-210. The day he fell ill was November 1. In a statement released after his death, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing him. The Kremlin has denied involvement in a case.

Radiation experts said on Sunday they were 95 percent certain that the traces found had come from the radioactive isotope polonium-210. Still final tests were needed to confirm this.

It is reported that no radiation source has been discovered so there is no danger for general population.

Hamburg’s Police Chief Werner Jantosch said there was no indication that the case had its roots in the city.

German authorities suppose that Kovtun carried a polonium source with him from Moscow to London via Hamburg in order to poison Litvinenko. Kovtun, who says that Litvinenko was the middleman in one of his business deals, is now in hospital in Moscow. The reasons of hospitalizing are still uncertain.

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