Former German spy chief August Hanning was arrested on Friday on allegations of espionage, treason and the illicit acquisition of classified information for a foreign power, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Hanning headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005 before moving into private consulting. Prosecutors allege that he supplied classified intelligence to a foreign agency, drafting an analysis for one of its officers, and maintained contacts with another foreign spying service. No foreign power has yet been named.
Police also detained former BND employee Manfred D, charging him with passing Hanning roughly 2,000 confidential documents for cash. D, who served as Hanning’s bureau chief and later as chief of staff to BND leaders until this year, is accused of enabling Hanning’s access to highly classified material, including the provision of political intelligence that Hanning allegedly relayed to a foreign representative.
Hanning was taken into custody at his home in Nordwalde near Münster; Manfred D was arrested in Bavaria. Hanning is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, while D is due to face charges on Tuesday.
Investigators discovered an electronic storage device hidden near a residence in Hamburg, containing sensitive BND material. This find emerged during unrelated investigations involving Hamburg heiress Christina Block, who has been accused of kidnapping her children in 2023.
This is not the first time the BND has come under fire. In 2023 a senior officer, Carsten L, was charged with treason for allegedly passing state secrets about the Ukraine war and the Wagner group to Russia for approximately €400,000. His trial is ongoing.
