Former BND President Hanning has to be in custody

One day after his arrest, the former president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning, was taken into custody. The investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice executed the arrest warrant, as a spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office said.

The 80-year-old is suspected of having bought and partly passed on secret BND information from his former office manager. The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses him of acting as a secret service agent, treasonous spying, spying on state secrets and attempted treason.

In one case, Hanning is said to have used secret information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence security apparatus. “It has not yet been possible to determine whether the product reached the addressee,” said the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. Which country it was about remained unclear.

Hanning's former office manager at the BND, Manfred D., is already in custody for aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous spying.