Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Tuesday that August Hanning, 80, a former director of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), is under investigation on suspicion of plotting treason and acting as an agent for a foreign intelligence service. He was arrested in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany.
On the same day, Manfred D – Hanning's former chief of staff, identified only in part – was arrested in Steinfurt in western Germany on suspicion of "complicity in plotting treason and treasonous espionage."
According to the prosecutor's office, Hanning used classified information provided by Manfred D to prepare an analysis for an officer of the foreign intelligence service.
The office said Manfred D had also served as chief of staff to Hanning's successors between 2012 and 2026. Exploiting his position, Manfred D accessed classified information and passed it to Hanning "in exchange for payment." Hanning then used the material in his own private consulting work, according to the allegations.
"The findings so far indicate that over many years Manfred D supplied Hanning with around 2,000 documents, many of them containing classified information intended only for the BND's internal use, in particular intelligence reports prepared for the leadership," the statement said.
The statement did not disclose which country or agency the two men are suspected of spying for, or where the foreign intelligence officer worked, and said it "has not yet been established whether the documents reached their intended recipient."
German lawmaker Marc Henrichmann, chairman of the Bundestag's intelligence oversight committee, told AFP that Germany "will not tolerate the betrayal of secrets."
"Anyone who allies with the enemies of our liberal democracy will be found out," Henrichmann said.
Authorities are searching the residences of Manfred D and Hanning at multiple locations, including the capital, Berlin.
