MOSCOW, February 29 - RAPSI. The UK Crown Prosecution Service sent a letter to Russian authorities seeking extradition of Dmitry Kovtun in connection with the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who fled to the UK in 2000, died on November 24, 2006, at the age of 44 after spending a month in hospital.

British doctors asserted that Litvinenko died as a result of the polonium-210 poisoning. He met with Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun not long before his death.

British officials have accused Lugovoy of murdering Litvinenko, and stated they have sufficient evidence to charge him with the murder. Lugovoy said the charges against him are politically motivated.

Dmitry Kovtun told the Financial Times that Russian prosecutors had informed him they had received a letter from the Crown Prosecution Service dated February 12 requesting his extradition to face trial in England.

The UK Crown Prosecution Service declined to confirm or refute the information.