German police detained the country’s former head of its foreign-intelligence service on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason in one of the biggest scandals to engulf the spy agency since its creation in the mid-1950s on.wsj.com/4rMNplr?
— @WSJ Oct 6, 2026
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Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning has been arrested on suspicion of treason –
DW
Germany’s ex-spy chief arrested for espionage and treasonTuesday October 6th, 2026 at 6:46 AM
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Police have arrested the former head of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency, August Hanning, on suspicion of espionage, the federal prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday.Hanning served as the agency’s chief from December 1998 to November 2005, before moving to the Federal Interior Ministry where he worked as state secretary until November 2009.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, he is facing charges including alleged espionage, disclosure of state secrets, attempted treason, and working as a secret service agent.
The statement added that another former high-ranking employee of the BND had also been arrested on suspicion of providing Hanning with hundreds of classified documents in exchange for payment.
DW’s chief political editor Michaela Küfner, reporting from a government press briefing on the arrest, described the case as Germany’s “biggest espionage scandal of the century unfolding in real time.”
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Hanning’s alleged informant worked as chief of staff for multiple BND headsImage: Joko/picture alliance
What else do we know about the investigation?
Police arrested Hanning early Tuesday at his home in Nordwalde near the western German city of Münster, according to information from WDR, NDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung.Hanning’s alleged accomplice, who was identified only as Manfred D. in line with Germany’s privacy laws, was taken into custody in Bavaria.
Authorities were conducting searches at both suspects’ properties, as well as in Berlin, the prosecutor said.
During Hanning’s tenure as spy head, D. served as his chief of staff. He also subsequently worked under Hanning at the Interior Ministry until 2009.
He is facing charges of “aiding and abetting attempted treason and espionage against the state.”
Marc Henrichmann, who chairs the German parliament’s intelligence oversight committee, said following the arrests that Germany “will not tolerate the betrayal of secrets.”
“Whoever allies themselves with the enemies of our liberal democracy will be found out,” he said in comments to the AFP news agency.
The investigation in Hanning reportedly began due to his connection to a high-profile trial involving businesswoman Christine Block.
2,000 documents allegedly handed over to Hanning
The prosector’s office said Hanning and Manfred D. are believed to have come up with their arrangement in 2010.From 2012 to March 2026, D. served as chief of staff to Hanning’s successors at the BND spy agency, where he had access to a wealth of classified documents, according to the prosecutor’s statement.
“The current findings suggest that, over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many of which contained classified information to be used exclusively by the Federal Intelligence Service for internal purposes,” the statement said.
It added that D. is alleged to have provided Hanning with information until at least mid-2022, and that Hanning used that information in his private consulting work.
Hanning is also accused of being “in close contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he passed on political information, partially based on material provided by Manfred D., for several years,” the statement said.
The prosecutor’s office did not say which foreign intelligence service was involved.
The two suspects are expected to appear before an investigating judge on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
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— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Oct 6, 2026
Police have arrested the former head of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency, August Hanning, on suspicion of espionage, the federal prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday.
Hanning served as the agency’s chief from December 1998 to November 2005, before moving to the Federal Interior Ministry wh
Hanning served as the agency’s chief from December 1998 to November 2005, before moving to the Federal Interior Ministry wh
 |
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . |
Police have arrested the former head of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency, August Hanning, on suspicion of espionage, the federal prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday.
Hanning served as the agency’s chief from December 1998 to November 2005, before moving to the Federal Interior Ministry where he worked as state secretary until November 2009.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, he is facing charges including alleged espionage, disclosure of state secrets, attempted treason, and working as a secret service agent.
The statement added that another former high-ranking employee of the BND had also been arrested on suspicion of providing Hanning with hundreds of classified documents in exchange for payment.
DW’s chief political editor Michaela Küfner, reporting from a government press briefing on the arrest, described the case as Germany’s “biggest espionage scandal of the century unfolding in real time.”
Hanning’s alleged informant worked as chief of staff for multiple BND headsImage: Joko/picture alliance
What else do we know about the investigation?
Police arrested Hanning early Tuesday at his home in Nordwalde near the western German city of Münster, according to information from WDR, NDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Hanning’s alleged accomplice, who was identified only as Manfred D. in line with Germany’s privacy laws, was taken into custody in Bavaria.
Authorities were conducting searches at both suspects’ properties, as well as in Berlin, the prosecutor said.
During Hanning’s tenure as spy head, D. served as his chief of staff. He also subsequently worked under Hanning at the Interior Ministry until 2009.
He is facing charges of “aiding and abetting attempted treason and espionage against the state.”
Marc Henrichmann, who chairs the German parliament’s intelligence oversight committee, said following the arrests that Germany “will not tolerate the betrayal of secrets.”
“Whoever allies themselves with the enemies of our liberal democracy will be found out,” he said in comments to the AFP news agency.
The investigation in Hanning reportedly began due to his connection to a high-profile trial involving businesswoman Christine Block.
2,000 documents allegedly handed over to Hanning
The prosector’s office said Hanning and Manfred D. are believed to have come up with their arrangement in 2010.
From 2012 to March 2026, D. served as chief of staff to Hanning’s successors at the BND spy agency, where he had access to a wealth of classified documents, according to the prosecutor’s statement.
“The current findings suggest that, over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many of which contained classified information to be used exclusively by the Federal Intelligence Service for internal purposes,” the statement said.
It added that D. is alleged to have provided Hanning with information until at least mid-2022, and that Hanning used that information in his private consulting work.
Hanning is also accused of being “in close contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he passed on political information, partially based on material provided by Manfred D., for several years,” the statement said.
The prosecutor’s office did not say which foreign intelligence service was involved.
The two suspects are expected to appear before an investigating judge on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
Don’t let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google, so you’ll always see our verified news first.
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— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Oct 6, 2026
In potentially the most serious spy scandal in German history, August Hanning is suspected of alleged treasonous espionage, the disclosure of state secrets, attempted treason and intelligence activity.
🔗: telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…
— @Telegraph Oct 6, 2026
Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief, August Hanning, was taken into custody as part of an investigation into treason and espionage allegations bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
— @business Oct 6, 2026
August Hanning was head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service under Gerhard Schröder during the period in which Berlin got hooked on Russian energy, with Hanning backing Nord Stream 1.
Days after Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine, Hanning publicly argued Western arms deliveries wouldn’t make much difference and said he hoped “normal relations” with Russia could be restored soon.
After the Nord Stream explosion, he quickly and baselessly made accusations about Polish and Ukrainian responsibility, and suggested Germany should seek compensation from Poland and Ukraine.
Hanning has also previously smeared Latvia.
He joined the supervisory council of Norvik Banka, later PNB Banka, which subsequently collapsed. Its insolvency administrator later brought a €32 million damages claim against former board and supervisory council members, including Hanning.
During the process, Hanning publicly made sweeping allegations of corruption about Latvian officials and institutions. In later arbitration proceedings, an international tribunal said he made unsubstantiated claims.
He has today been arrested on suspicion of espionage, attempted treason and obtaining state secrets.
— @Baltic_Takes Oct 6, 2026
August Hanning is accused of obtaining classified information for a foreign power.
Germany’s former top spy is arrested for ‘attempted treason and espionage for a foreign intelligence service’ trib.al/X0DPxbr
— @DailyMail Oct 6, 2026