A former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, August Hanning, 80, has been ordered held in pretrial detention after a judge issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday. He is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage. Hanning led the Federal Intelligence Service, known by its German acronym BND, from 1998 to 2005 and was arrested on Tuesday.
Hanning and a former aide, identified as Manfred D., were arrested on suspicion of espionage. Manfred D. is accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage and is already in pretrial detention. Prosecutors allege that the two men agreed in 2010 that Manfred D. would continuously provide Hanning with valuable foreign intelligence information in exchange for payment.
The federal prosecutor's office says that Hanning allegedly used this information to his financial advantage in his private consulting work. Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents over 12 years through June 2022. In one instance, Hanning is alleged to have used classified information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service.
The stolen documents were intended exclusively for use within the BND, according to prosecutors. Many of the documents contained classified information for executive intelligence briefings. Prosecutors have not given any further details about the mostly classified material.
German officials have vowed a full investigation into the matter. The federal government takes this case extremely seriously and is providing full support to the investigating authorities. The allegations being made are serious, and officials need to analyze the situation and get to the bottom of it.
The chair of the parliamentary committee that oversees intelligence agencies, Marc Henrichmann, said that the security breach has shocked both the German and international intelligence community. He said that Germany needs to reach out to allied intelligence agencies who may have lost their trust in the BND after the spying scandal became public.
This is not the first spying scandal in Germany's foreign intelligence agency. In 2022, a former BND employee allegedly passed internal documents to the Russian intelligence service, and in 2014, a BND employee was exposed as a spy for the CIA. The German government is working on a reform designed to grant its intelligence agencies broader powers to counter growing threats.
Key points
- August Hanning, 80, and his former aide Manfred D. are charged with espionage and treasonous activities.
- The two men allegedly exchanged valuable foreign intelligence information for payment, with approximately 2,000 documents provided over 12 years.
- The security breach has shocked the German and international intelligence community, with officials vowing a full investigation.
