Paid Former Subordinate for Secrets... Ex-Head of German Foreign Intelligence Agency Arrested on Espionage Charges

Suspected of Providing Information to Foreign Intelligence Officials

The former head of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the country’s foreign intelligence agency, has been arrested on charges of receiving internal secrets after retirement and providing information to associates of a foreign intelligence agency.

Former head of the German Federal Intelligence Service August Hanning arrested on espionage charges. Reuters, Yonhap News

According to local media including Germany’s dpa news agency, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office arrested August Hanning, former director of the BND, and his former chief of staff on espionage charges on the morning of the 6th (local time). In line with German data protection regulations, the former chief of staff has only been identified as “Manfred D.” with his surname and first initial released.

Hanning served as the head of the BND from 1998 to 2005 and worked as a private security consultant after leaving the agency. He is accused of agreeing with his former chief of staff Manfred D. to continue receiving internal information for payment after stepping down from BND leadership. It is reported that Hanning intended to use this information for the private consulting work he was tasked with.

He is also suspected of using this information to prepare analysis reports for individuals associated with foreign intelligence agencies. However, it has not been confirmed whether the information was actually delivered. Investigations have also found that Hanning provided information to another foreign intelligence associate over several years. According to German public broadcasters WDR and NDR and the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, this particular case is reportedly not related to Russia.

According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Manfred D. served as Hanning’s chief of staff during his tenure as director. From March 2012 to March of this year, he worked as chief of staff for several BND directors. The documents Manfred D. provided to Hanning over the years amount to approximately 2,000. Many of them were classified materials restricted for internal use only, including documents prepared for senior officials’ situation review meetings at the Chancellery.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.