Former German Spy Chief Arrested for Espionage and Treason
August Hanning, who headed Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, has been arrested on suspicion of espionage, treason and providing classified information to a foreign power, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said today.
Hanning, now a private consultant, allegedly used sensitive BND data to draft an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer and maintained contact with another spying agency, prosecutors say, though the foreign parties remain unnamed.
The investigation also named former BND employee and Hanning’s former bureau chief Manfred D, who is accused of passing about 2,000 classified documents to Hanning in exchange for money. D, who served as chief of staff to Hanning’s successors from 2012 to 2026, is charged with aiding and abetting treasonous espionage.
Authorities say D used his position to gain access to highly confidential material and forwarded it to Hanning, who in turn circulated it among foreign services. The documents include internal BND files not intended for public release.
Hanning was seized at his home in Nordwalde, near Münster, while D was taken in Bavaria. Both men are scheduled to appear before court next week: Hanning on Wednesday and D on Tuesday.
The case sheds light on a broader pattern of accusations against German intelligence officials. In 2023, another high‑ranking officer was charged with passing state secrets to Russia, and a separate probe involving the theft of private files linked to former BND members has drawn further scrutiny.
Investigators uncovered an electronic storage device containing sensitive BND material during a separate investigation involving the kidnapping of the children of heiress Christina Block, which has also highlighted potential security lapses within German intelligence operations.
German prosecutors continue to examine the extent of Hanning’s wrongdoing and whether the information reached the foreign recipients he claimed to serve.
