A general view of the home of Russian Yevgeni Limarev in Cluses, in the French Alps, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006

The man who provided a “hit list” that was shown to former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell ill has gone into hiding, The Times reported on Wednesday.

Without citing its sources, the newspaper said Yevgeny Limarev had fled his home in the French Alps, where he was under police protection.

Limarev provided Italian academic Mario Scaramella with the list, which Scaramella then showed to Litvinenko at a central London sushi bar on November 1, about three weeks before the ex-spy died of poisoning, with large quantities of radioactive substance polonium-210 found in his urine.

He told AFP last week that he feared for his life after he was publicly identified as the person who gave Scaramella the “hit list”.

“Mario did indeed receive information about this from my contacts and asked me if they were credible. I answered yes,” said Limarev on December 7, confirming that the contacts were “contacts from Russia” whom he could not name.

“My name has been brought up in the case along with Litvinenko and Scaramella,” Limarev said. “And I really fear something might happen to me.”

The Times also reported, without citing its sources, that police are seeking an unnamed Russian businessman who flew from Moscow to Hamburg on October 28 with Dmitry Kovtun, who met with Litvinenko on the day he fell ill.

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