August Hanning, the former president of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), has been arrested as part of an investigation into suspected treasonous espionage, the disclosure of state secrets and attempted treason, placing one of the country’s former senior security officials at the centre of an extraordinary criminal investigation.
Hanning, 80, who headed the BND from December 1998 until the end of November 2005, was arrested at his home in the district of Steinfurt in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to information reported by Der Spiegel, specialist police officers arrived at 6.41am and took him away in a black van at 8.58am. A second suspect, identified as 64-year-old Manfred D., Hanning’s former chief of staff at the BND, was arrested in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria. Searches were also conducted at premises connected to the suspects in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Berlin.
The Federal Prosecutor General alleges that Hanning and Manfred D. agreed as early as spring 2010 that the former BND office manager would supply his former superior with intelligence obtained from the agency’s leadership level in return for payment. According to investigators, the arrangement continued for years. By June 2022, Manfred D. is alleged to have provided Hanning with about 2,000 documents, including numerous classified materials.
The documents reportedly included briefing papers prepared for the BND leadership for the weekly intelligence situation report presented at the Federal Chancellery. Such material provided information intended for the highest levels of Germany’s government. Manfred D., who continued working for the BND after Hanning’s departure and held senior positions, including as office manager to other BND presidents, remained employed by the agency until March 2026.
The investigation also concerns whether Hanning passed information to foreign intelligence services. According to security sources cited in the reporting, Hanning allegedly used intelligence obtained from the BND to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence and security apparatus. The identity of the foreign power has not been established publicly, although the reporting says it was not Russia. Prosecutors have not established whether the analysis was actually delivered to its intended recipient.
Investigators are also examining Hanning’s alleged contact over a longer period with an intelligence officer from another, unnamed country. Information is alleged to have been passed in that relationship as well, although it reportedly did not originate from classified BND material. The precise circumstances and extent of any transfer to foreign intelligence services remain part of the investigation.
The case emerged from an investigation into the family and kidnapping dispute involving steakhouse heiress Christina Block and her children. The children, who were living with their father in Denmark, were taken by force into a vehicle in the New Year’s Eve period of 2023–24 and brought to Germany, where their mother was waiting for them. Hanning had come under suspicion of involvement in an earlier attempted kidnapping of the children, an allegation he denies.
As part of that investigation, German authorities searched Hanning’s home and offices in September 2025. Investigators also placed a covert operative in his environment for a period. According to the reporting, officers searching Hanning’s premises in the Block case discovered the sensitive BND material. The findings were then passed to the Federal Prosecutor General’s Office in Karlsruhe, which is responsible for pursuing espionage and treason cases.
The arrest is highly unusual because Hanning was not simply a former intelligence official. After leaving the BND, he remained a senior figure in Germany’s security establishment. He served as state secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior under Wolfgang Schäuble until the end of 2009 and played a significant role in shaping Germany’s anti-terror legislation during that period. His former office manager likewise continued working within the BND for years after Hanning’s departure.
The allegations have prompted demands for a full investigation and for any damage to German intelligence capabilities to be established. Konstantin von Notz, the Green Party member responsible for intelligence oversight, told Der Spiegel: “We expect a swift and complete investigation into the outrageous allegations against former BND chief Hanning.” He also called for any intelligence-related damage that may have occurred to be clarified as quickly as possible.
The case will be subject to scrutiny by Germany’s Parliamentary Control Committee, the 13-member body responsible for overseeing the BND, the Military Counterintelligence Service and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The committee can request reports, inspect relevant documents and conducts its proceedings in closed session. CDU intelligence expert Marc Henrichmann described Hanning’s arrest as an important signal that classified information is a matter of national security rather than a trivial offence.
If convicted of treasonous espionage, Hanning could face between six months and 10 years in prison. His defence had not initially been available for comment.
