Ex-chief of BND detained in preventive custody denies spying for Azerbaijan
August Hanning, 80, former head of Germany's secret service, has been placed in preventive custody on suspicion of treason and espionage. His lawyer rejects the accusations.
Ex-chief of BND in preventive custody rejects accusations of treason
August Hanning, 80, former director of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), has been in preventive custody since Wednesday, one day after being detained on suspicion of espionage constituting treason. His lawyer, Leon Kruse, categorically rejected the accusations in statements to Der Spiegel.
"My client is being unjustly persecuted," Kruse stated, however admitting that Hanning "was in possession of confidential documents". The lawyer emphasised that "it is incorrect to accuse him of having transmitted the information contained in them to the detriment of the Federal Republic of Germany, and still less in return for remuneration", adding that subsequent investigations will demonstrate this.
According to CNN Portugal, Germany's Federal Court of Justice ordered Hanning's preventive custody on Wednesday, after issuing an arrest warrant the day before against his alleged accomplice, identified only as Manfred D.
Accusations from the Public Prosecutor's Office
On Tuesday, the German Public Prosecutor's Office announced that Hanning — who stepped down as head of the BND in 2005 — is under investigation on suspicion of espionage constituting treason, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and activity as a spy.
Manfred D., who was Hanning's chief of staff during his tenure as head of the BND between 1998 and 2005 and later assistant when Hanning served as State Secretary at the Interior Ministry between 2005 and 2009, has likewise been in preventive custody since Tuesday. The suspicions against him include complicity in attempted treason and espionage constituting treason.
After leaving his post as assistant, Manfred D. returned to work for various BND directors. According to the prosecution, he is believed to have exploited his position as chief of staff — which granted him access to numerous confidential items of information — to provide them to Hanning, who had meanwhile been working as a private security consultant, in return for payment.
Around 2,000 documents over several years
Over the years, and at least until 2022, Manfred D. is believed to have handed to Hanning "approximately 2,000 documents, many of which contained information classified as confidential", intended exclusively for internal BND use, the prosecution indicated.
In one instance, Hanning is believed to have used assessments prepared by the intelligence service "to prepare an analysis for an official of a foreign intelligence apparatus", although it was not possible to determine whether the report reached its recipient. The prosecution also states that Hanning maintained intensive contact with a member of another state intelligence service.
Links to Azerbaijan under investigation
Der Spiegel reports that there is an investigation into suspicion that the former BND chief maintained contact with an agent of Azerbaijan and that the analysis in question was prepared for the secret services of that South Caucasus country. Hanning's connection to Azerbaijan is indisputable, as he was part of the leadership of the German-Azerbaijani Forum, an association close to the Azerbaijani government, according to a statement from that body dated July 2025.
Azerbaijan, for its part, through its Broadcasting and Media Council, described as "inadmissible" the "disclosure of this type of news material without citations from official sources", in reference to Der Spiegel information linking Azerbaijani secret services to Hanning's activity, deeming it a "manipulation of information".
Source: CNN Portugal