Former BND chief August Hanning has been arrested in southern Germany on suspicion of treasonous espionage and other offences involving state secrets, federal prosecutors said.
Hanning, 80, led Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, from December 1998 until November 2005. He was detained in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.
A former aide, identified as Manfred D, was also arrested on Tuesday in Steinfurt, western Germany. He is accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
Prosecutors have not said which country the men are suspected of spying for. They said Manfred D had worked as Hanning’s chief of staff and had access to confidential information.
The two men are believed to have agreed in spring 2010 that Manfred D would continuously pass valuable intelligence from the BND to Hanning in return for payment.
Investigators believe Manfred D supplied about 2,000 documents over several years. Many allegedly contained classified information intended solely for internal use by the German intelligence service, including executive intelligence briefings.
Hanning is accused of using the material in his private consultancy work. Prosecutors said that, on one occasion, he used classified intelligence supplied by Manfred D to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service.
The federal prosecutor’s office did not identify the country represented by the officer. It said investigators had not yet established whether the material reached its intended recipient.
After leaving the BND presidency, Hanning went on to serve as chief of staff to several subsequent BND presidents from March 2012 until March 2026.
