German authorities have arrested a former head of the country's foreign intelligence service on suspicion of passing classified state secrets to a foreign intelligence agency, the federal prosecutor's office announced Tuesday.
August Hanning, who served as president of the Federal Intelligence Service — known by its German acronym BND — from 1998 to 2005, was taken into custody in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen, a town in the southern German state of Bavaria. The 80-year-old is suspected of committing a series of grave offenses related to espionage.
According to a statement released by federal prosecutors, Hanning is "strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage." The phrasing of the charges indicates investigators believe the case involves both completed acts of intelligence-gathering and efforts that may have been disrupted before reaching fruition.
A second man, identified only as Manfred D. in accordance with German privacy conventions, was also arrested on Tuesday. He was apprehended in Steinfurt, located in western Germany, and faces charges of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage. Prosecutors described Manfred D. as a former aide who had once served as Hanning's chief of staff.
The arrest of such a senior former intelligence figure represents a highly unusual and politically sensitive development for Germany. The BND is the country's primary foreign intelligence agency, responsible for gathering information abroad on matters ranging from terrorism and weapons proliferation to cyber threats and geopolitical developments. The exposure of a potential security breach at the highest levels of the agency's past leadership raises serious questions about internal oversight and the vetting of former personnel who retain access to sensitive networks.
Beyond his tenure as Hanning's chief of staff, Manfred D. continued to serve in a similar capacity for several subsequent BND presidents, holding that position from 2012 until 2026. Prosecutors noted that in this role, he had access to confidential information — a factor that investigators appear to view as central to the case.
The federal prosecutor's office said that both suspects are believed to have reached an agreement in 2010 under which Manfred D. would continuously transmit valuable intelligence from the BND to Hanning in exchange for payment. That alleged arrangement, if proven, would mean the flow of classified material persisted for well over a decade, potentially spanning the tenures of multiple agency chiefs.
"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," the prosecutor's statement said. Such briefings typically contain highly sensitive assessments prepared for Germany's top political leadership, including the chancellor and key cabinet ministers.
Investigators allege that Hanning exploited the information he received in the course of private consulting work. On at least one occasion, prosecutors say, he "used classified intelligence provided by Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service." The statement did not disclose which foreign intelligence service the two men are suspected of spying for, leaving a significant element of the case shrouded in secrecy — a common feature of espionage investigations, where revealing the beneficiary nation could compromise diplomatic relations or ongoing counterintelligence operations.
The premises of both suspects were searched on Tuesday, according to the prosecutor's office. Such searches are typically aimed at securing documents, electronic devices, and other potential evidence that could corroborate the alleged exchange of intelligence.
Germany has seen several high-profile espionage cases in recent years, but the involvement of a former BND president sets this investigation apart. The BND has historically maintained a low public profile, and its operations are subject to strict parliamentary oversight through a dedicated committee of the Bundestag. A breach of this magnitude, if confirmed, would likely intensify scrutiny of how the agency manages classified information and monitors former officials who remain connected to serving personnel.
The case also raises questions about the potential national security damage caused by the alleged transfer of roughly 2,000 documents over an extended period. Intelligence briefings prepared for executive leadership often contain source-identifying details, assessments of foreign capabilities, and information that, if disclosed to another service, could endanger human sources or expose collection methods.
Under German law, treasonous espionage and related offenses carry severe penalties, reflecting the gravity with which the state treats the compromise of national secrets. Attempted treason, which features among the charges, applies when a defendant has taken concrete steps toward committing the offense even if the harm was not fully realized.
Prosecutors have not indicated whether either suspect has entered a plea or provided a statement to investigators. It also remains unclear whether Hanning has retained legal counsel or whether a judge has ruled on pre-trial detention conditions.
The investigation is being led by the federal prosecutor's office, which handles cases involving national security and politically sensitive crimes. Germany's domestic intelligence agency and federal police are typically involved in supporting such inquiries, though officials have not detailed the specific agencies collaborating on this case.
As the investigation proceeds, the focus will likely shift to determining the full scope of the alleged information exchange, identifying any additional individuals who may have facilitated it, and assessing what, if any, secrets reached foreign hands. For now, the two arrests mark the opening of a case that could reverberate through Germany's intelligence community and its political establishment for months to come.
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