August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, has been arrested on suspicion of leaking state secrets to a foreign intelligence agency.
The country’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced this information on Tuesday. Hanning, 80, led the BND from 1998 to 2005.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office stated that Hanning faces charges of treasonous espionage, gathering state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage. He was arrested in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen area of southern Germany.
On the same day, Hanning’s former aide, Manfred D., was also arrested in Steinfurt, western Germany. He has been charged with attempted treason and aiding in treasonous espionage.
Ines Peterson, a spokesperson for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, told the German broadcaster RTL that Hanning is accused in one instance of using state secrets to compile a report for an official from a foreign intelligence agency. In another instance, he is suspected of passing information to an official from a different intelligence agency following prolonged contact.
However, authorities have not disclosed which country or foreign intelligence agency Hanning and Manfred D. worked for. Searches were also conducted on Tuesday at various premises linked to the two men.
Allegations of Hanning Passing on BND Secret Documents
The Prosecutor’s Office stated that Manfred D. worked as Hanning’s chief of staff. He later served as chief of staff for several subsequent BND heads between 2012 and 2026. Consequently, he had access to the agency’s classified information.
Investigators believe that Hanning and Manfred D. reached an agreement in 2010. Under this arrangement, Manfred D. regularly supplied valuable intelligence to Hanning from the BND in exchange for money.
According to the prosecutor’s office, available information indicates that Manfred D. supplied approximately 2,000 documents to Hanning over the course of several years. Many of these documents contained classified information intended primarily for the BND’s internal use—specifically for high-level intelligence briefings within the agency.
Peterson stated that Hanning utilized this information in his work as a private consultant. Manfred D.—whose full name is withheld under German privacy laws—is alleged to have supplied classified information to Hanning until June 2022.
