German ex-spy chief August Hanning arrested on suspicion of treason, espionage

Germany's federal prosecutor's office said August Hanning, the former president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), was arrested on Tuesday, 6 October, in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany. The office said in a statement that Hanning, 80, is "strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage." A former aide, identified as Manfred D., was also arrested on Tuesday in Steinfurt in western Germany, according to the statement.

Manfred D. has been charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage, according to NPR. The prosecutor's office said he worked as Hanning's chief of staff and later served as chief of staff for several subsequent BND presidents from 2012 until 2026, and that in that role he had access to confidential information.

The prosecutor's office said both suspects are believed to have agreed in 2010 that Manfred D. would continuously transmit valuable intelligence from the BND to Hanning in exchange for payment. The statement said current findings suggest Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents over the years, many containing classified information to be used exclusively by the federal intelligence service for internal purposes, particularly for executive intelligence briefings.

Ines Peterson, a spokesperson for the federal prosecutor's office, told German broadcaster RTL that in one instance Hanning is suspected of using classified information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service. She said that in another instance he is alleged to have passed on information following an extensive exchange with an employee of another intelligence service. Peterson said Manfred D. provided Hanning with classified information until June 2022 and that Hanning used the information in private consulting work. Neither Peterson nor the prosecutor's office said which foreign intelligence services the two men are suspected of spying for.

The prosecutor's office stated that the current proceedings stem from evidence found during a search of Hanning's residence in connection with a separate investigation. According to NPR, that investigation concerns the abduction of Hamburg businesswoman Christina Block's children from her ex-husband in Denmark in January 2024, in a custody battle that had gone on for several years. NPR reported, citing German news agency dpa, that the public prosecutor's office announced in the fall of 2025 that Hanning and a retired official from the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office are suspected of having accepted a contract from Block in 2022 to abduct her children while serving as executives of a security firm.

France 24 reported that the arrest is an "embarrassing case at a time when the country is seeking to broaden the powers of its intelligence agencies." NPR reported that Manfred D. cannot be identified by his full name under German privacy rules.