Former BND chief August Hanning arrested in Germany on espionage and treason charges
August Hanning, who led German intelligence between 1998 and 2005, was arrested on suspicion of allegedly facilitating classified information to foreign services.
Arrest of former BND director for passing secrets to foreign powers
August Hanning, former director of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), was detained on suspicion of espionage, treason and obtaining classified information for foreign powers, according to the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, as reported by El Deber.
Hanning headed the BND between 1998 and 2005 and has since worked as a private consultant. Police arrested him at his home in Nordwalde, a town near Münster.
In the same operation, Manfred D., a former BND employee who remained in the service until this year and who also held the position of chief of staff to Hanning's successors between 2012 and 2026, was detained. Manfred D. was arrested in Bavaria.
According to the prosecutor's office, Manfred D. exploited his position to access highly confidential information and handed approximately 2,000 classified documents to Hanning "in exchange for payment". He is accused of complicity in attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
"Current findings suggest that over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many of which contained classified information intended for exclusive use by the BND for internal purposes," the prosecutor's office statement said.
Hanning, for his part, allegedly used some of this material to draft an analysis intended for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. Prosecutors indicated that it is unclear whether "the material reached the intended recipient". Furthermore, he is accused of maintaining close contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he transmitted political information over several years. Authorities have not revealed which countries were involved.
Hanning is due to appear before a court on Wednesday.
According to local media, the investigation into Hanning's alleged possession of classified documents emerged in the context of a separate case: the accusation against Christina Block, heiress of a German steakhouse chain. The Hamburg prosecutor's office accused Block of orchestrating the abduction of her two minor children in 2023, in the context of a custody dispute. Investigators claim that Hanning participated in a previous attempted abduction of the minors, an allegation he denies. Criminal police officers then found a storage device containing confidential information, including recent BND documents.
It is not the first time the German intelligence service has faced such a situation. In 2023, a senior official was accused of leaking state secrets to Russia: prosecutors alleged that Carsten L. shared information about the war in Ukraine and the mercenary group Wagner, and that he received approximately 450,000 dollars. That trial is ongoing.
Source: El Deber