FORMER HEAD OF GERMAN INTELLIGENCE ARRESTED ON ESPIONAGE SUSPICIONS
August Hanning, the former president of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, has been arrested in an extraordinary espionage investigation involving nearly 2,000 internal documents.
Hanning led the Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, between 1998 and 2005. German federal prosecutors say he is strongly suspected of espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.
His former chief of staff, identified under German privacy rules as Manfred D., was also arrested. The official continued working closely with successive BND presidents until March 2026, potentially giving him access to some of Germany’s most sensitive intelligence reporting.
Investigators allege that the two men reached an arrangement in 2010 under which Manfred D. supplied Hanning with valuable BND information in exchange for payment. Approximately 2,000 documents were allegedly transferred over several years, many of them classified and intended exclusively for internal intelligence briefings.
Hanning is suspected of using the information through his private consulting business. Prosecutors say that on at least one occasion, he used classified material to prepare an analysis for an officer from a foreign intelligence service.
Authorities have not publicly identified the foreign service involved. Despite immediate speculation, investigators have disclosed no evidence establishing that Hanning was working for Russia.
If proven, the case would represent a severe breach at the highest level of Germany’s intelligence establishment: a former agency chief allegedly obtaining classified information from a trusted official who remained inside the BND for years.