Litvinenko suspect disputes investigation

MOSCOW, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Andrei Lugovoi, Britain's top suspect in the death of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, has challenged investigators to provide evidence of his guilt.

Lugovoi not only said that he would not go to Britain to meet with the Crown Prosecution Service as part of the investigation, but challenged the department to send all of its key findings in the case to Russia, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.

"I am not going anywhere because this (murder) case involves big politics," Lugovoi said. "I propose that if British authorities have any proof, they should send it here, to Russia."

Lugovoi accused top British officials of conspiring against him and instead suggested that fugitive oligarch Boris Berezovsky was a key player in Litvinenko's 2006 death.

"There is no evidence, there is no proof. Everything that the Crown Prosecution Service says is a lie, inspired by the British top leadership together with the special services," he alleged.

The Russian news agency reported that the former KGB officer also alleged that Litvinenko likely did not die from radiation poisoning as investigators initially believed.