An internet bookmaker based in Kazakhstan is taking bets on who will be accused of murdering former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, and most of the bets are being placed by Russians, the Reuters news agency reports.

The GOL+PAS bookmakers said they were accepting stakes of between $1 (51 pence) and $500 on the official outcomes of British and Russian investigations.

Litvinenko died in a London hospital on November 23 after exposure to radioactive polonium 210.

“Some people have asked about the ethics of this kind of betting,” GOL+PAS said in reply to email questions from Reuters.

“We reply that it is far more cynical to kill people for money or to sell one’s soul for money than it is to forecast ordinary elements of our lives.”

It declined to say how much it had taken in bets so far. If no one is accused of murdering Litvinenko by February 1, those who placed wagers at 2-1 on “no one” will win.

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