Former German Spy Chief Arrested on Espionage and Treason Charges

August Hanning, who led the Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005, has been taken into custody by German prosecutors. He faces accusations of passing classified BND documents to foreign intelligence services and of forging analysis for an unnamed foreign officer.

Detached from government, Hanning had since worked as a private consultant, but investigators say he leveraged his insider status to hand over roughly 2,000 sensitive files to a former bureau chief, Manfred D, who allegedly received payment for the betrayals.

Manfred D, who served as Hanning’s bureau chief and later as a chief of staff, is charged with aiding and abetting treason and is set to appear in court later this week. Hanning was arrested at his home in Nordwalde near Münster, while D was detained in Bavaria.

Experts warn that the case highlights ongoing concerns over leaks within German intelligence, echoing the 2023 treason trial of another officer who supplied Ukraine war data to Russian agents.

The evidence was reportedly found during an unrelated investigation into the kidnapping of the children of Hamburg steakhouse heiress Christina Block, tying Hanning to a broader network of national security breaches.

The details of the foreign agencies involved remain undisclosed as prosecutors proceed with the case, which is now set to be heard in Berlin court next Wednesday.