Former German intelligence chief August Hanning has been arrested on suspicion of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets and acting as an intelligence agent for a foreign power.
Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office said Hanning, who headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, was arrested on Tuesday. His former aide, Manfred D., was also taken into custody. Prosecutors allege that the two men agreed in 2010 that Manfred D. would provide Hanning with confidential BND intelligence in exchange for payment. Investigators believe the arrangement continued for years after Hanning left the intelligence service.
According to prosecutors, Manfred D. supplied Hanning with about 2,000 documents, many of which contained classified information intended only for internal use by the BND and senior government officials. Hanning is accused of using some of the material in his private consulting work. On one occasion, prosecutors allege, he used classified intelligence to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service.
Authorities have not identified the foreign intelligence service involved and said it remains unclear whether the analysis reached its intended recipient. Hanning is also accused of maintaining contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service and providing political information to that person over several years.
Manfred D. is suspected of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage. He had served as Hanning’s chief of staff and later worked as chief of staff for several BND presidents between 2012 and March 2026, giving him continued access to confidential information.
Police arrested Hanning in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany, while Manfred D. was arrested in Steinfurt, North Rhine-Westphalia. Authorities also searched properties linked to the two men in several locations, including Berlin. The investigation began after sensitive intelligence was reportedly discovered during a separate investigation involving German steakhouse heiress Christina Block. Prosecutors later took over the case in May 2026 and continued the investigation with the BND and Federal Criminal Police Office.
Local reports have linked the discovery to a storage device containing sensitive information, including recent BND documents. Both suspects were expected to appear before an investigating judge at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice, who will decide whether they remain in pre-trial detention. The case comes after another major German intelligence scandal involving former BND officer Carsten L., who was charged in 2023 over allegations that he passed classified information to Russia. His trial remains ongoing.
The latest investigation does not establish that Russia was involved. Reuters reported that German media sources indicated Russia was not among the foreign intelligence services implicated in the Hanning case, although prosecutors have not publicly identified the countries involved.
