Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office said that on Tuesday, on warrants issued by an investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, agents arrested August Hanning, the former president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), and Manfred D., his former chief of staff. Both are suspected of passing on and using classified material from the service.
Prosecutors strongly suspect Hanning of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and acting as an agent for a foreign intelligence service. Manfred D. is accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
Hanning led the BND from December 1998 until November 2005, then served as a state secretary at the Interior Ministry until the end of 2009. After leaving government he worked as a private consultant. According to prosecutors, no later than spring 2010 he agreed with Manfred D. that the latter would pass him internal BND material in exchange for payment. Manfred D. first ran Hanning’s office, then served as his aide at the Interior Ministry, and later again held the chief-of-staff post under subsequent BND presidents — until spring 2026.
Prosecutors say that by June 2022 he had handed Hanning about 2,000 documents. A substantial share was classified and meant for internal use only, including material for intelligence briefings of the leadership. Among the documents were material on Iran’s nuclear program, the Russian armed forces, and information from foreign partner services.
In one case, prosecutors allege Hanning used classified information obtained from Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. Investigators have not established whether it reached the intended recipient. He is also accused of passing political information for several years — partly based on the same documents — to a representative of another foreign intelligence service. Prosecutors have not named the countries involved.
