Published : 06 Oct 2026, 09:11 PM
Updated : 06 Oct 2026, 09:11 PM
Former German foreign intelligence chief August Hanning was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of attempted treason, obtaining state secrets and espionage, federal prosecutors said.
Hanning is accused of paying a former employee of Germany’s BND intelligence service for confidential information and using some of it to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. Prosecutors did not identify the agency and said it was unclear whether the analysis reached its intended recipient.
“Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and espionage,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Hanning, who led the BND for seven years until 2005, allegedly reached an agreement with a former BND office manager five years after leaving the post to receive confidential intelligence in exchange for payment.
The former office manager, identified as Manfred D under German privacy rules, was also arrested on Tuesday. Both men were due to appear before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice.
Prosecutors said Manfred D is suspected of supplying about 2,000 documents over the years, including classified BND material for internal use and high-level intelligence briefings prepared for the chancellery.
They said Hanning used some of the information to prepare an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer and had shared political information with a representative of the service for years. Information obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung indicated the case does not involve Russia.
BND President Martin Jaeger said the agency had launched extensive internal investigations after suspicions emerged, stressing that there could be “no compromises on internal security”.
Hanning did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the chancellery declined to comment.
Past Spy Scandals
The arrest adds to a long history of espionage scandals in Germany. In 1974, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt resigned after an East German spy was discovered among his close aides.
In 1990, a senior West German counter-intelligence official was exposed as an East German spy after operating for years and was later convicted of treason.
More recently, former domestic intelligence chief Hans-Georg Maassen said in 2024 that the agency he once led was monitoring him over alleged right-wing political extremism, an allegation he denied.
