Former German intelligence chief, August Hanning has been arrested on suspicion of passing state secrets to a foreign intelligence service, Germany’s federal prosecutors have said.
Hanning, 80, who headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from December 1998 to November 2005, is accused of espionage, treason and obtaining classified information for a foreign power.
According to prosecutors, the allegations centre on claims that Hanning paid for access to classified documents and used some of the material to prepare an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer.
The federal prosecutor’s office said Hanning allegedly reached an agreement with a former office manager in 2010, about five years after leaving the BND, under which he would receive confidential information in exchange for payment.
Hanning is “strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage,” prosecutors said.
He was arrested in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany. Hanning also served as state secretary at the Federal Interior Ministry until November 2009.
A former aide identified only as Manfred D was also arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
Prosecutors allege that Manfred D supplied Hanning with about 2,000 documents over several years, including classified material meant for internal use within the BND and intelligence briefings for senior officials at the Chancellery.
The two men are suspected of agreeing in spring 2010 that Manfred D would continuously provide Hanning with intelligence from the BND in return for payment.
“In his role, he had access to confidential information,” the prosecutor’s office said.
It added that “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, particularly for executive intelligence briefings.”
According to prosecutors, Hanning used the material in his private consulting activities.
They said that “on one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence provided by Manfred D to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service”.
The prosecutor’s office did not identify the country involved and said it remained unclear whether the material eventually reached the intended recipient.
The homes of both suspects were searched on Tuesday.
Bild newspaper reported that the investigation began after an alleged leak of an intelligence report intended for the Chancellery was uncovered.
Both men are expected to appear before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice, prosecutors said.
Hanning had previously come under investigation in connection with the abduction of the children of Hamburg businesswoman Christina Block from her former husband.
The federal prosecutor’s office said the current case arose from evidence discovered during a search of Hanning’s home as part of that investigation, leading to Tuesday’s arrests.
According to German news agency dpa, Hanning and a retired official of the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office were accused in 2025 of accepting a contract from Block in 2022 to abduct her children while they were executives at a security company.
