Former BND boss Hanning apparently had contacts with China - the control committee is demanding consequences

The Bundestag committee for intelligence control wants to delve deeper into the investigation into the alleged espionage case of the former President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning. The serious allegations against Hanning and his former office manager were noted with great concern and the federal government provided comprehensive reports on this, according to a briefing from the Parliamentary Control Committee (PKGr).

The committee, which currently includes MPs from the Union and SPD as well as Green Party interior expert Konstantin von Notz, also announced that it had commissioned its permanent representative to carry out an ad hoc control. “The aim is to clarify the circumstances promptly and to make a contribution to resolving existing structural and organizational problems.”

Ex-BND President Hanning and his former office manager were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of espionage. Both are now in custody. The office manager is said to have provided Hanning with internal BND documents for a fee, which he is said to have used for his consulting work. According to media reports, Hanning is said to have been in contact with an Azerbaijani agent. The Federal Prosecutor's Office did not comment on this.

As “Spiegel” exclusively reported on Thursday, the 80-year-old may also have had contacts in the People’s Republic of China. According to “Spiegel”, Hanning is said to have shared sensitive information with a man from the Chinese secret service apparatus. However, this has not been officially confirmed and the Federal Prosecutor's Office did not want to comment to the magazine.

The law that regulates the work of the PKGr stipulates that the authorized representative can be commissioned to examine a specific, current or particularly important incident in the intelligence services at short notice and on a case-by-case basis. He can request files and data, enter offices and question employees. Criminal investigation remains the responsibility of the Federal Prosecutor General.

Such ad hoc control is relatively rare. After the Islamist terrorist attack on Berlin's Breitscheidplatz in December 2016, the PKGr commissioned the then Permanent Representative to investigate the work of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the BND as well as the cooperation with other authorities in the case of the later attacker, Anis Amri.

The secret service inspectors were informed on Wednesday by BND President Martin Jäger about his findings on the alleged espionage case. The committee generally meets in secret; a public survey by members of parliament only takes place once a year.

The PKGr announced on Thursday that the arrest of Hanning and his former office manager as well as the allegations presented by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office were noted “with the greatest concern”. In addition to clarification, the goal must now be “to remedy existing structural and organizational problems.”

The members of the PKGr, which monitors the secret services for the Bundestag, recalled that they had already announced on May 10, 2023 that it was problematic “that civil servants with in-depth security-relevant or intelligence knowledge take up private-sector activities that are related to their previous official employment without being checked.”