Former German intelligence chief, August Hanning, has been arrested over allegations of espionage, treason and obtaining classified information for a foreign power.
Hanning, a former president of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), was arrested at his home alongside a former BND employee identified as Manfred D was also arrested in Bavaria.
According to the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, Hanning is accused of using classified intelligence to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service and maintaining contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service.
The prosecutors, however, did not disclose the identities of the foreign powers allegedly involved in the case.
Investigators also accused Manfred D, who served as Hanning’s bureau chief and remained with the BND until this year, of supplying Hanning with about 2,000 classified documents in exchange for money.
Manfred D, who also served as chief of staff to Hanning’s successors between 2012 and 2026, is charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
Prosecutors said he allegedly used his position within the intelligence service to gain access to highly confidential information, which he subsequently passed to Hanning for remuneration.
“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,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The authorities alleged that Hanning used some of the classified material to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service, although investigators have not established whether the document ultimately reached its intended recipient.
Hanning is also accused of maintaining close contact for several years with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he allegedly passed political information, some of which was based on material supplied by Manfred D.