Former German spy boss in trouble due to leaked information

Germany’s former spy chief, August Hanning, plunged into trouble when he was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of passing sensitive information to foreign powers.

Hanning, who ran Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency from 1998 to 2005, is accused of espionage, treason and working for a foreign intelligence agency, federal prosecutors said.

They did not say which foreign countries were involved.

Hanning’s former chief of staff, partly named Manfred D., was also arrested on suspicion of aiding treason.

The aide is accused of using his position working for several of Hanning’s successors to obtain classified information and sell it to his former boss.

Hanning then allegedly used the information in his personal consulting work, including preparing briefings for foreign spies and passing information to agents of other foreign intelligence agencies, prosecutors said.

Germany “will not tolerate betrayal of secrets,” the chairman of parliament’s intelligence oversight committee, Marc Henrichmann, said in a statement.

Treason is punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in Germany.

The BND and domestic spy service BfV have traditionally had more limited powers than foreign agencies, but authorities are trying to strengthen them to face growing threats, especially from Russia.

The reforms are expected to be passed by parliament early next year.

The current head of the BND, Martin Jaeger, said the agency “quickly conducted an extensive internal investigation” into Hanning’s case before federal prosecutors took over the investigation.

“For the BND and me, there is no compromise when it comes to internal security,” Jaeger told the Rheinische Post newspaper, adding that the incident “does not call into question my goals or priorities”.

According to prosecutors, Manfred D. provided Hanning with about two thousand documents over several years, many of which contained classified information.
Hanning – who served as the interior ministry’s top civil servant from 2005-2009 – used classified intelligence “to compile analysis for a foreign intelligence agency officer,” although it is unclear whether “the material reached the intended recipient.”

He was also accused of “being in close contact with representatives of other foreign intelligence services, to whom he passed political information, based in part on materials provided by Manfred D., over several years.”

According to broadcaster ARD, the information conveyed by Manfred D. included material about Iran’s nuclear program and the Russian army.

The report quoted a security source as saying some of the information came from partner intelligence agencies overseas.

The allegations against Hanning came to light through his involvement in the case of Christina Block, a steakhouse chain heiress who was tried for ordering the kidnapping of her two children.

In that case, Hanning and a retired police officer are accused of accepting commissions from Block of more than 100,000 euros ($112,000) in exchange for returning the children from Denmark, where they lived with Block’s ex-husband.

As part of that investigation, Hanning’s property was searched in September 2025, leading to the current investigation.