Germany's ex-spy chief arrested for espionage, attempted treason

Former BND chief August Hanning and an ex-aide were arrested in Germany over alleged espionage. Prosecutors say the case points to a years-long leak of classified intelligence for money.

In Short

• Former BND chief August Hanning arrested for espionage and treason
• Hanning and ex-colleague Manfred D. accused of leaking 2,000 secret documents
• Sensitive info included Iran's nuclear programme and Russian military data

Germany has arrested former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning on suspicion of espionage, attempted treason and obtaining state secrets, in a case that could become one of the country's most serious intelligence scandals in decades.

The 80-year-old Hanning, who headed Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, was taken into custody on Tuesday along with a former senior BND employee identified as Manfred D. under Germany's privacy laws.

Federal prosecutors allege that the two men were involved in a years-long arrangement to obtain and pass on highly sensitive intelligence from Germany's foreign intelligence service. The material allegedly included classified documents and information meant only for internal use by the BND and senior officials at the Chancellery.

"Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and espionage," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Authorities have not identified the foreign intelligence service that Hanning is accused of assisting. Prosecutors also said it remains unclear whether classified material he allegedly prepared for a foreign intelligence officer ever reached its intended recipient.

The two suspects were due to appear before an investigating judge at Germany's Federal Court of Justice as the investigation widened.

HOW THE OPERATION WORKED

According to prosecutors, Hanning and Manfred D. agreed in 2010 to exchange confidential BND intelligence for payment, around five years after Hanning had left the agency.

Manfred D. had previously served as Hanning's chief of staff. After Hanning's departure from the BND, however, D. remained in a position that gave him access to sensitive information. Prosecutors said he went on to serve as chief of staff to several successive BND presidents between March 2012 and March 2026.

"In his role, he had access to confidential information," the prosecutor's office said.

Investigators believe D. supplied Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents over the years. Many allegedly contained classified material intended exclusively for internal BND purposes, including intelligence briefings prepared for senior government officials.

"The 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, particularly for executive intelligence briefings," prosecutors said.

The documents allegedly covered highly sensitive subjects. German newspaper Sddeutsche Zeitung reported that they included material relating to Iran's nuclear programme and the Russian military, as well as intelligence classified as secret by foreign allied agencies.

Prosecutors allege that Hanning used some of the information in his private consulting work. In one case, they say, he used classified intelligence supplied by D. to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service.

"On one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence provided by Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service," the prosecutor's office said.

Authorities have not named the country involved and said they have yet to establish whether the analysis reached its intended recipient.

‘NO COMPROMISES' ON BND SECURITY

The investigation has raised concerns far beyond the two suspects because of Hanning's former position at the head of Germany's intelligence establishment. Hanning led the BND between December 1998 and November 2005 before moving to the Federal Interior Ministry, where he served as a state secretary until 2009.

The BND said it began an extensive internal investigation as soon as suspicions emerged. BND President Martin Jaeger said, "There can be no compromises on internal security."

German lawmakers also warned that the allegations could have consequences for the country's relationships with intelligence partners. Conservative security expert Roderich Kiesewetter told Handelsblatt that espionage cases of this nature were "particularly burdensome for trust and particularly damaging for Germany".

Marc Henrichmann, who chairs the German parliament's intelligence oversight committee, said Germany "will not tolerate the betrayal of secrets."

"Whoever allies themselves with the enemies of our liberal democracy will be found out," he said, according to AFP.

Opposition lawmaker Konstantin von Notz, another member of the intelligence oversight committee, described the allegations as "deeply troubling" and called for a swift and thorough investigation.

The federal prosecutor's office searched properties linked to both suspects as part of the investigation, as well as locations in Berlin.

GERMANY'S LONG HISTORY OF SPY SCANDALS

The arrest has already drawn comparisons with some of Germany's most notorious espionage cases.

During the Cold War, the country was repeatedly shaken by revelations involving East German intelligence. In 1974, Chancellor Willy Brandt resigned after it emerged that one of his close aides, Gnter Guillaume, had been working as an East German spy.

In 1990, Klaus Kuron, a senior West German counter-intelligence official, was exposed as a Stasi informant and was later convicted of treason.

More recent controversies have also raised questions about Germany's intelligence services. Former domestic intelligence chief Hans-Georg Maassen said in 2024 that the agency he once led was monitoring him over alleged links to right-wing extremism, allegations he denied.

But the Hanning case carries a different weight because it involves a former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service and allegations concerning material obtained from inside the BND itself.

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With inputs from agencies