Former BND Director August Hanning Arrested on Suspicion of Espionage and Treason

German authorities arrested August Hanning, who headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, and his former associate Manfred D. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is investigating both men on suspicion of offenses related to espionage, state secrets and attempted high treason. The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation and do not amount to a finding of guilt.

Prosecutors trace BND documents spanning more than a decade

According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Manfred D. allegedly used his access to internal BND information to provide documents to Hanning in exchange for money. The alleged exchange is said to have begun in 2010 and continued at least until 2022. Investigators estimate that nearly 2,000 documents were handed over; many contained classified information and were intended for the service’s internal use.

Prosecutors’ theory is that Hanning, after leaving the agency, used some of this material in his consulting work and in contacts with people linked to foreign intelligence services. The authorities have not publicly identified the countries involved.

The destination of all the information has not been confirmed

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office describes two lines of investigation. In one, Hanning allegedly used assessments prepared by the BND to produce an analysis intended for a member of a foreign intelligence apparatus. So far, investigators have been unable to establish whether the document reached that person.

In the other, Hanning allegedly maintained an exchange for years with a member of another state intelligence service and provided political information based in part on documents he is alleged to have received from Manfred D. The existence and scope of these communications are among the suspicions that must be clarified. Reports in German media say the contacts under investigation were not with Russian services; the authorities have not disclosed the identities of the agencies involved.

An investigation that emerged from another case

Suspicions about the possible leak arose during inquiries linked to the case against businesswoman Christina Block, who is accused of participating in the kidnapping of two of her children in Denmark. Hanning runs a private security company, System 360, which had already come under scrutiny in that investigation. In 2025, private and professional premises associated with him were searched, and investigators examined documents and electronic devices that had been seized.

Analysis of the material is said to have led investigators to secret BND documents that Hanning was not supposed to keep. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office took over the investigation into the possible leak and is working with the intelligence service itself and the Federal Criminal Police Office.

Next judicial steps

After the arrests, Hanning and Manfred D. were due to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice, who would rule on pretrial detention. That decision is separate from the central question: whether the offenses under investigation were committed and what happened to the documents and how they were used.

Hanning, 80, headed the BND for seven years and later served as state secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior. No responses from his lawyers to the new allegations had been made public, nor had Manfred D. issued a statement. The investigation is ongoing, and the allegations therefore remain unproven.