Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office has arrested former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning on suspicion of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets and acting on behalf of foreign intelligence services, in a case involving the alleged transfer of thousands of classified documents.
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Hanning, 80, who headed Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, was detained on Tuesday in southern Germany. A former senior BND official identified as Manfred D. was also arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting attempted treason and espionage. Authorities simultaneously carried out searches at properties linked to the two suspects in several parts of Germany, including Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin.
According to prosecutors, the alleged scheme dates back to 2010, several years after Hanning had left his position at the BND. Investigators believe Manfred D., who had served as Hanning’s chief of staff and later continued working in senior positions within the intelligence service, supplied him with confidential information in exchange for payment.
Prosecutors say the former official provided Hanning with roughly 2,000 documents over a period of years. The material allegedly included classified BND documents intended exclusively for internal use, as well as high-level intelligence briefings prepared for senior officials at the German Chancellery.
Investigators further allege that Hanning used some of the intelligence obtained from his former colleague to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. Authorities have not publicly identified the foreign service involved and have not established whether the analysis ultimately reached its intended recipient. Prosecutors also suspect that Hanning shared political information with a representative of another foreign intelligence service over a period of several years.
The investigation reportedly emerged from evidence uncovered during an unrelated investigation in 2025. Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office subsequently took over the case and conducted the investigation in cooperation with the BND and the Federal Criminal Police Office.
Hanning’s arrest represents a highly unusual development for Germany’s intelligence establishment, given his former position at the top of the country’s foreign intelligence service. The allegations also raise questions over the handling of classified information by former senior officials and the safeguards protecting sensitive intelligence after they leave government service.
