Former BND employee accused of selling about 2,000 classified documents over 12 years

Manfred D., a former employee of the German intelligence agency BND, is accused of selling around 2,000 highly classified documents to Hanning over 12 years, according to DW. Hanning led the BND for seven years and stepped down in 2005. Manfred D. continued to serve all of Hanning's successors, including the current BND chief Martin Jäger, before retiring in March this year.

The state prosecutor said Hanning "used classified intelligence provided by Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service." Florian Flade, a reporter for public broadcaster ARD, told DW's Berlin Briefing podcast that most of the documents were weekly intelligence briefings the BND delivered to the German government. He said these included the latest findings from partner intelligence agencies in other countries.

Flade said the case involves information about the Iranian nuclear program, the Russian military and the Ukraine war. He said a damage assessment is now happening within the BND and that the agency is talking to partners to find out whether their information was given to other countries. According to DW, there is no suggestion so far that the material reached the intelligence agencies of Russia or China.

According to DW, some pundits say the biggest concern is what conclusions the intelligence agencies of allied countries will draw from the affair. DW noted the CIA has in the past shared information on radical Islamists in Germany, which possibly helped prevent terrorist attacks there. Flade said "there might be a change in the amount of information that is coming from the US and others."

A day before the case became public, Jäger told a parliamentary hearing that the Kremlin was already waging a "shadow war" and that further military rearmament was "unfortunately necessary". He also said there was currently no indication of active preparations from Russia. Flade said that behind the scenes, Jäger is furious about the leak and called a meeting on Tuesday of all BND officials to underline how serious the consequences of sharing information could be. New internal security measures are being put in place.

According to DW, new laws are being prepared to expand the BND's powers, partly to improve its standing among foreign partners. DW also reported that another BND agent, Carsten L., and a businessman named Arthur E. are currently on trial in Berlin on treason charges for passing on classified documents.