Former BND chief August Hanning arrested in Germany espionage probe

Germany's federal prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning had been arrested on espionage allegations, along with a former aide. The office said Hanning, 80, is "strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage".

The prosecutor's office said the two men are suspected of passing on confidential material from Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, over several years. It did not say who they were suspected of spying for.

Hanning served as president of the BND from December 1998 to November 2005. He was arrested in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany. His former aide, identified only as Manfred D., was arrested in Steinfurt in western Germany and is charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.

According to the prosecutor's office, Manfred D. worked as Hanning's chief of staff. After Hanning's tenure at the BND, he served as chief of staff to several later BND presidents from March 2012 until March 2026. "In his role, he had access to confidential information," the prosecutor's office said.

The statement said both suspects are believed to have agreed in the spring of 2010 that Manfred D. would continuously pass on valuable intelligence from the BND to Hanning "in exchange for remuneration". "The current findings suggest that, over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many of which contained classified information to be used exclusively by the federal intelligence service for internal purposes, particularly for executive intelligence briefings," it alleged. The statement added that Hanning used the information in his private consulting work.

The prosecutor's office also said that "on one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence provided by Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service". It did not identify the country involved and said "it has yet to be determined if the material reached the intended recipient". The premises of both men were searched on Tuesday, capping a case centred on the alleged transfer of secret BND material over many years.