What we know about espionage, treason allegations against Germany's ex-spy chief

A former head of Germany ’s foreign intelligence service who is charged with passing state secrets to a foreign intelligence service was ordered held in pretrial detention after a judge issued an arrest warrant Wednesday. 

August Hanning, 80, who is “strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage,” led the Federal Intelligence Service, known by its German acronym BND, from 1998 to 2005. He was arrested Tuesday. 

A former aide of Hanning, identified only as Manfred D. in line with German privacy rules, was also arrested Tuesday and is already in pretrial detention. He is accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage. 

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Contact with foreign spy

The two men allegedly agreed in 2010 that Manfred D. would continuously provide Hanning – who had left office five years earlier – with valuable foreign intelligence information in exchange for payment. Manfred D. served as chief of staff for several subsequent BND presidents from 2012 until 2026. 

The federal prosecutor's office says Hanning allegedly used this information to his financial advantage in his private consulting work. 

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Based on the current status of the investigation, Manfred D. is said to have provided his former boss with approximately 2,000 documents over a 12-year-period 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. However, “it has not yet been possible to determine whether the report reached its intended recipient,” the federal prosecutor’s office stated. 

“In another instance, Hanning is alleged to have passed on information following an extensive exchange – also with an employee of another intelligence service,” a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.

Classified information

According to prosecutors, Hanning may have had access to information intended exclusively for use within the BND. Many of the documents contained classified information for executive intelligence briefings. 

Beyond that, prosecutors have not given any further details about the mostly classified material and are not expected to do so in the near future.

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The prosecutor's office did not reveal who exactly the two men were suspected of spying for or which foreign intelligence services they provided with classified information.  

“No further information beyond what is contained in the press statement is currently being provided,” Ines Peterson, a spokesperson for the office, said Wednesday. 

“The federal government takes this case extremely seriously and is providing full support to the investigating authorities,” a spokesperson for German Chancellor Merz told reporters Wednesday. 

“The allegations being made are serious. We need to analyze the situation and get to the bottom of it,” Sebastian Hille said, adding that “we must await the results of the investigation in order to determine whether any changes are needed.” 

International fallout 

The chair of the parliamentary committee that oversees intelligence agencies said the security breach has shocked both the German and international intelligence community. He said Germany needs to reach out to allied intelligence agencies who may have lost their trust in the BND after the spying scandal became public. 

“Although this has caused quite a stir, I am quite confident that the German services enjoy a very high reputation internationally,” said Marc Henrichmann, who is also a national lawmaker with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union.   

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Merz's spokesperson Hille said that he was not aware that foreign intelligence services had reached out to Germany about the incident so far.  

Several German politicians have also called for stricter rules banning former officials with security clearances from engaging in private consulting work after leaving office.  

The massive intelligence breach comes at a time when the German government is working on a reform designed to grant its intelligence agencies broader powers to take measures such as countering sabotage and hacking attempts – in response to a growing threat from powers such as Russia and extremists.  

In August, the cabinet approved draft legislation aimed at strengthening the BND and its domestic counterpart, the BfV, and reducing the European Union’s most populous country’s reliance on intelligence from its allies.