Former German intelligence chief arrested on suspicion of espionage, accused of leaking 2,000 secret documents

August Hanning, the former president of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in activities linked to espionage and treason. Hanning, who headed the BND from 1998 to 2005, was arrested in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, in southern Germany. As part of the same investigation, his former chief of staff, Manfred D., was also arrested in Steinfurt, in the west of the country.

According to German prosecutors, Manfred D. is suspected of using his positions to obtain confidential information and classified documents, which he then handed over to Hanning in exchange for payments.

Investigators suspect that over the years Manfred D. passed around 2,000 documents to Hanning, many of which contained classified BND information intended solely for internal use and high-level briefings.

Prosecutors said Hanning used at least some of the information he received to prepare an analysis for an officer from a foreign intelligence service. However, German authorities have not disclosed which country the agent is suspected of working for or whether the classified information actually reached its intended recipient.

According to the investigation, Manfred D. continued to hold senior positions within the BND’s leadership structures even after Hanning’s departure, serving as chief of staff to his successors. Prosecutors suspect that he used this position to gain access to sensitive data.

German lawmaker Marc Henrichmann, head of the parliamentary committee overseeing the intelligence services, said Germany would not tolerate the leaking and transfer of state secrets. The investigation is ongoing to determine to whom the classified information may have been transmitted and whether the two detainees acted in coordination with a foreign intelligence service.