Former German intelligence chief arrested on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason

• August Hanning was detained over alleged treasonous espionage and passing state secrets to a foreign intelligence service.
• Prosecutors say his former aide supplied him with around 2,000 BND documents, many of them classified.

Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets and passing classified information to a foreign intelligence service, federal prosecutors said.

Hanning, 80, headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005. He was arrested in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany.

His former chief of staff, identified as Manfred D., was also arrested in western Germany and accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.

Prosecutors said the two men allegedly agreed in 2010 that Manfred D. would provide Hanning with intelligence from the BND in exchange for payment.

Investigators believe Manfred D. supplied Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many containing classified information intended for internal BND use.

Authorities said Hanning allegedly used the material in private consulting work and, in at least one instance, used classified information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service.

German authorities have not identified the foreign intelligence services allegedly involved.

The espionage investigation emerged from a separate case involving the alleged abduction of the children of Hamburg businesswoman Christina Block from Denmark in January 2024.

Evidence found during a search of Hanning’s residence in connection with that investigation reportedly led authorities to the alleged transfer of classified BND information.

The allegations remain under investigation, and the arrests do not establish guilt.