Auch in der Diktatur #Aserbaidschan meldet man, dass August Hanning für #Russland spioniert haben soll. Der ehemalige #BND-Chef arbeitet seit über einem Jahrzehnt als Lobbyist für das dortige Regime:
en.apa.az/europe/former-germ…— @SaschaDueerkop Oct 6, 2026
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9/11: the missing link – August Hanning – Google Search google.com/search?q=9%2F11%3…
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Bild reported additional details surrounding the investigation, saying the case initially grew out of suspicions that Hanning was involved in an attempted kidnapping of the children of German heiress Christina Block, an affair in which former Mossad operatives were also reportedly involved.
Former German spy chief arrested over Iran nuclear, Russian military files ynetnews.com/article/rk5ybeg…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Oct 6, 2026
Prosecutors say August Hanning received about 2,000 classified BND documents from a former aide, used them in private consulting and drafted an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer; Bild says the case grew from a separate kidnapping probeGermany’s former foreign intelligence chief August Hann
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Prosecutors say August Hanning received about 2,000 classified BND documents from a former aide, used them in private consulting and drafted an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer; Bild says the case grew from a separate kidnapping probe
Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of treasonous espionage and other offenses in an investigation involving the alleged transfer of roughly 2,000 intelligence documents, federal prosecutors said.
Hanning, 80, headed Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, the country’s counterpart to Israel’s Mossad, from December 1998 until November 2005. Prosecutors said he is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason and espionage.
Former German foreign intelligence chief
(Photo: AFP)
A former aide, identified only as Manfred D. under German privacy rules, was also arrested Tuesday. Hanning was detained in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district in southern Germany, while Manfred D. was arrested in Steinfurt in western Germany.
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Prosecutors said Manfred D. had served as Hanning’s chief of staff and later worked as chief of staff for several subsequent BND presidents from March 2012 until March 2026, giving him access to confidential information.
According to the investigation, the two men agreed in spring 2010 that Manfred D. would continuously provide Hanning with valuable BND intelligence in exchange for payment. Prosecutors said he eventually supplied Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many containing classified information intended exclusively for internal BND use, including executive intelligence briefings.
Hanning allegedly used the material in his private consulting activities after leaving the intelligence service. Prosecutors said that on one occasion he used classified information supplied by Manfred D. to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. They did not identify the country involved and said it remains unclear whether the material reached its intended recipient.
Bild reported additional details surrounding the investigation, saying the case initially grew out of suspicions that Hanning was involved in an attempted kidnapping of the children of German heiress Christina Block, an affair in which former Mossad operatives were also reportedly involved.
According to Bild, investigators subsequently uncovered indications that information had been leaking from the BND. A search of Hanning’s home last year reportedly turned up a storage device containing classified material.
Authorities are also examining whether Hanning passed intelligence to China or Russia, countries with which Bild said he maintained direct contacts. The newspaper reported that highly sensitive documents concerning Iran’s nuclear program and the Russian military were among the materials found in his possession.
Manfred D. is suspected of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
Authorities searched premises linked to both men on Tuesday as the investigation continued.
Former German spy chief arrested over Iran nuclear, Russian military files ynetnews.com/article/rk5ybeg…
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Oct 6, 2026
Former German spy chief arrested on suspicion of espionage and treason | The Times of Israel timesofisrael.com/former-ger…
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Item 1 of 3 August Hanning, state secretary at the German Interior Ministry and former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), attends a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin, Germany, November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo[1/3]August Hanning, state secretar
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Item 1 of 3 August Hanning, state secretary at the German Interior Ministry and former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), attends a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin, Germany, November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo
[1/3]August Hanning, state secretary at the German Interior Ministry and former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), attends a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin, Germany, November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
BERLIN, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Former German foreign intelligence chief August Hanning was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of attempted treason for allegedly paying to access secret documents and using them to prepare an analysis for a foreign spy service, federal prosecutors said.
Prosecutors did not identify the foreign intelligence service, and it was not immediately clear whether the analysis reached its intended recipient.
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“Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and espionage,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Five years after his seven-year tenure as head of the BND intelligence service ended in 2005, Hanning agreed with a former BND office manager to receive confidential intelligence information in exchange for payment, according to prosecutors.
The office manager, identified as Manfred D. in line with privacy rules, was also arrested on Tuesday and both were due to appear before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice.
‘NO COMPROMISES’
Prosecutors said D. is suspected of having supplied around 2,000 documents over the years, including classified material intended solely for internal use within the BND and senior-level intelligence briefings at the chancellery.
According to prosecutors, Hanning used classified information supplied by D. to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service and for years shared political information with a representative of the spy agency.
According to information obtained by the SZ newspaper, the case does not involve Russia.
BND President Martin Jaeger said the agency had launched extensive internal investigations as soon as suspicions emerged, adding that “there can be no compromises on internal security.”
Hanning did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The chancellery declined to comment.
PAST SPY SCANDALS
Hanning’s arrest is the latest in a series of notorious espionage scandals in Germany.
West German Chancellor Willy Brandt was forced to resign in 1974 after it was revealed that an East German spy had worked as his close aide for nearly two years. In 1990, a senior West German counter-intelligence official was exposed for spying for East Germany throughout the 1980s and was later convicted of treason.
More recently, former domestic intelligence chief Hans-Georg Maassen said in 2024 he was now being monitored by the security agency he once ran over alleged right-wing political extremism, which he denied.
Adds quote from prosecutors’ statement in paragraph 3, BND statement in paragraph 9, background on past spy scandals in paragraph 11
Reporting by Friederike Heine, additional reporting by Andreas Rinke; editing by Linda Pasquini and Alexandra Hudson
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