Former German spy chief arrested on suspicion of treason and espionage
German agents on Tuesday arrested August Hanning, who led the country's foreign spy service from 1998 to 2005. Prosecutors say he is suspected of treason and of spying for foreign powers. They say a former top aide gave him about 2,000 secret papers for money over the years, but they have not named the countries.
Germany has arrested a former head of its foreign intelligence service on suspicion of spying for foreign powers. Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that agents detained August Hanning, 80, who ran the Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, from 1998 to 2005.
Prosecutors say Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason and espionage. Police also arrested his former chief of staff, identified only as Manfred D. He is charged with helping Hanning. Properties linked to both men were searched, including sites in Berlin.
According to prosecutors, the two men agreed in 2010 that Manfred D. would keep passing valuable BND intelligence to Hanning in exchange for money. Hanning, who worked as a private consultant after leaving government, is accused of using the material in that work. Over the years, Manfred D. is said to have handed over about 2,000 documents. Many were classified papers meant for top-level security briefings held at the chancellor's office.
Prosecutors say Hanning once used secret intelligence to write an analysis for an officer of a foreign spy agency. It is not clear whether that report ever arrived. He is also accused of passing political information for several years to a contact from a second foreign intelligence service. Prosecutors have not named either country.
Manfred D. served as Hanning's chief of staff at the BND. He later worked for him again when Hanning was a top official at the Interior Ministry from 2005 to 2009. From 2012 until March 2026, he was chief of staff to several later BND presidents, which gave him access to sensitive files.
This is not the BND's first spy scandal. In 2023, a senior BND officer, Carsten L., was charged with treason for allegedly passing secrets to Russia, the BBC noted. His trial is still going on.
German media reported that the documents surfaced during a separate case involving steakhouse heiress Christina Block, who is accused of having her own children kidnapped in a custody fight. Investigators claim Hanning took part in an earlier kidnapping attempt, which he denies. Hanning is due in court Wednesday, the BBC reported.
What we know: A former BND chief and his longtime aide are under arrest.
What we don't: Which foreign spy services got the information.
Where outlets agree The BBC and AP both report prosecutors say Manfred D. passed Hanning about 2,000 documents, many of them classified, in exchange for money.
Where they differ BBC puts Hanning's arrest in Nordwalde near Münster and Manfred D.'s in Bavaria, while AP puts Hanning in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany and Manfred D. in Steinfurt in western Germany.