Former BND Chief Hanning Detained on Suspicion of Espionage
August Hanning, former president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), has been arrested. He is accused of misusing classified BND information for private consulting work.
Former BND Chief in Investigative Custody
The 80-year-old August Hanning, who served for many years as president of the Federal Intelligence Service, is being held in investigative custody on suspicion of espionage. An investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe ordered his detention warrant to be enforced, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office. Hanning was BND president from December 1998 to November 2005.
The charges relate to espionage activity, treason through espionage, acquisition of state secrets and attempted treason. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, Hanning is alleged to have received classified BND findings from his former office manager Manfred D. in exchange for payment over a period of possibly twelve years. He allegedly used this information profitably in his subsequent consulting work.
The two men apparently agreed on this arrangement around 2010 according to investigations. The office employee, who had followed Hanning from the BND to the Federal Interior Ministry and later worked again as office manager for several BND presidents, was also remanded in custody on Tuesday. The arrests took place on the same day – Hanning in Steinfurt district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Manfred D. in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district in Bavaria.
In at least one instance, Hanning prepared an analysis of classified information for an employee of a foreign intelligence service. As DER SPIEGEL (Justice & Crime) reports, the Federal Prosecutor's Office has so far been unable to determine whether this material reached its intended recipient. After his time as BND chief and a period as state secretary in the Federal Interior Ministry, Hanning moved into the private sector and worked as a security consultant.