Former Head of Intelligence in Germany Arrested for Espionage and Treason

Germany is shocked by the arrest of the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (BND) on charges of espionage and treason.

In the statement made by the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, it was reported that 2 people were arrested in operations carried out in the states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin.

The statement stated that these people were August Hanning and Manfried D., and that the suspects were arrested on charges of treason and espionage.

"OBTAINING AND SELLING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION"

In the statement, it was reminded that August Hanning was the head of the German Foreign Intelligence Service (BND) from December 1998 to November 2005, and Manfried D. served as Hanning's private secretary in the same period, and it was emphasized that the two suspects had cooperated in obtaining and selling confidential information since 2010.

MANFRIED HAD DIFFERENT ASSIGNMENTS UNTIL THE SPRING OF 2026

It was stated in the statement that Manfried D. worked in different positions at the Federal Intelligence Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs until the spring of 2026, and thus had authority to access confidential information, and that approximately 2 thousand documents, which were only available to the intelligence services, were seized for espionage purposes.

In the statement, it was stated that the two suspects were accused of selling intelligence status documents, as well as documents containing intelligence information about the political and security situation in the German Chancellery, to customers under the name of consultancy.

It was also noted that the two suspects will be tried in pre-trial detention.

CLAIM: "HANNING WAS WORKING FOR THE RUSSIAN SECRET SERVICE"

German media reported that Hanning worked as a consultant in security sectors around the world, including those who had contacts with Russia and China.