Arrest and charges
German authorities detained August Hanning, the former head of the BND, the country's foreign intelligence agency, from 1998 to 2005, early on Tuesday. The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses him of espionage and attempted treason. Politico and the BBC were first to report the arrest, which is an unusual criminal proceeding against a onetime senior intelligence figure. Prosecutors claim Hanning, subsequently a private consultant, acquired and exploited classified material for financial gain. A court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.[S1][S2]
The investigation also led to the arrest of Manfred D, a former BND employee who served as Hanning's bureau chief and remained with the agency until this year. Prosecutors accuse Manfred D of passing approximately 2,000 documents, many classified, to Hanning over a period of about twelve years up to 2022 in exchange for money. He faces charges of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage. Manfred D is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.[S1][S2]
Alleged foreign contacts and use of secrets
Prosecutors state that Hanning, on at least one occasion, drew on classified intelligence to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. They further claim he kept close ties with a representative of a different foreign intelligence service over several years, conveying political information that was partly derived from material supplied by Manfred D. The identities of the foreign powers have not been made public, and whether the material ever reached its intended recipient is still unknown.[S1][S2]
The matter surfaced amid a different investigation concerning Christina Block, a German steakhouse heiress whom Hamburg prosecutors accuse of arranging the 2023 abduction of her two youngest children during a custody fight. According to investigators, Hanning took part in an earlier kidnapping attempt targeting the children, an allegation he rejects. During that inquiry, state criminal police are said to have found an electronic storage device holding sensitive material, among it recent BND documents.[S2]
Context and precedent
Espionage-related scandals have touched the BND before. In 2023, a senior German intelligence officer, Carsten L, faced treason charges for allegedly handing state secrets to Russia, among them intelligence concerning the Ukraine war and the Wagner mercenary group. Prosecutors said he was paid about €400,000 ($450,000; £340,000). His trial continues. The present proceedings against Hanning and Manfred D deepen worries about internal security at Germany's foreign intelligence service.[S2]
