🇩🇪 Former German spy chief August Hanning arrested on suspicion of espionage

German federal police arrested August Hanning this morning at his home near Münster. Hanning, 80, headed Germany's foreign intelligence service, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), from 1998 to 2005.

Germany's Federal Prosecutor is investigating him for espionage offenses including attempted treason and acting as an intelligence agent. Prosecutors are trying to establish whether he passed the information to foreign agents.

According to investigators, his former chief of staff, identified only as Manfred D., handed him nearly 2,000 documents between 2010 and 2022. Many were classified and meant for internal BND use only. Hanning allegedly paid for them to profit from the material in his private consulting business.

Manfred D. was arrested the same morning. He went on to run the office of several later BND presidents, staying in the post until March 2026. Süddeutsche Zeitung reports the material included documents on Iran's nuclear program and the Russian armed forces.

In at least one case, Hanning allegedly used the material to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service. Prosecutors say they have not established whether it reached him.

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