(Photo: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) Russian businessman Met Litvinenko at the time he fell ill and has developed symptoms of radiation poisoning. Prosecutors have opened a criminal case into what they said was the attempted murder of Kovtun. Russian media reported that Kovtun was in a coma. A lawyer close to the case denied the report. After graduating from the Moscow High Military College in 1989, Kovtun was sent to Czechoslovakia, then to Germany. After the disintegration of the USSR, he remained in Germany, married a German woman (they later divorced) and received his residence permit. Has lived in Germany for 12 years, and was a businessman. He became the business partner of Andrey Lugovoi. His company is engaged in consulting, helping western companies enter the Russian market. At the same time, his company is a part of the bigger structure which provides protection services (bodyguards, information security, training center, etc.)