Former German spy chief arrested for treason and espionage

BERLIN — A former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency was arrested early Tuesday in connection with an investigation into suspected espionage and attempted treason, according to the German Federal Prosecutors Office.

An informant allegedly provided August Hanning, the former head of the foreign intelligence agency, or BND, with nearly two thousand documents, many of them classified, according to a statement from federal prosecutors. In one case, Hanning used classified information provided by an informant identified as Manfred D. to create an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service, according the prosecutors office.

“The accused Hanning is under strong suspicion of espionage constituting treason,” the prosecutors’ statement read.

The allegations will amount to a huge embarrassment for Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, which Hanning ran between 1998 and 2005.

This is a developing story.