Arrest a former head of German intelligence accused of spying for a foreign country
The German prosecutor's office accuses August Hanning of attempted high treason and activities as an espionage agent, but does not detail with which country he is suspected of cooperating
BarcelonaA former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning, was arrested this Tuesday accused of spying for a foreign country, according to the Office of the Public Prosecutor General. Authorities suspect that Hanning, who presided over the BND between 1998 and 2005, attempted to commit high treason by acting in the service of an intelligence agency of another country once he had already left the post. According to the Prosecutor's statement, he is being investigated for alleged espionage constituting high treason, obtaining state secrets, attempted high treason, and activities as an intelligence agent.
Hanning was arrested in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen, in southern Germany, by agents of the State Criminal Police Office, who also searched properties in Berlin related to the accused. The Prosecutor's Office has not revealed which country the suspects allegedly spied for. According to the newspaper Welt, for several years there have been suspicions that the former German intelligence chief collaborated with the Russian security service FSB. But according to an investigation by German media, including public broadcasters WDR and NDR, the foreign intelligence services with which Hanning allegedly cooperated do not include those of Russia.
In addition, the police have arrested an alleged accomplice, identified as Manfred D., who was Hanning's chief of staff when he presided over the intelligence services and was also his assistant when he was Secretary of State at the Interior Ministry, between 2005 and 2009. This second detainee later worked for other BND presidents and is suspected of using his role as chief of staff to provide confidential information to Hanning, who worked as a private security consultant when he left public office.
The prosecution accuses Manfred D. of providing Hanning with nearly 2,000 documents, "including much information classified as confidential" and which were intended exclusively for the internal use of the intelligence services. Furthermore, Hanning maintained an intense exchange with a member of another state intelligence service, without determining which country, to whom he supplied political information for years.
Hanning will appear this Tuesday and Wednesday before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, who will decide on his imprisonment. This is not the first case of alleged espionage in the German intelligence services: in 2022 a high-ranking official identified as Carsten L. was already arrested as a suspect of being a Russian double agent, although the trial against him has not yet concluded.