Germany: Former head of foreign intelligence arrested on espionage and treason charges

The German Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Tuesday the arrest of August Hanning, former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency (BND), on suspicion of involvement in espionage and high treason, as well as acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.

In a statement issued from its headquarters in Karlsruhe, the prosecutor’s office said that Manfred (D.), Hanning’s former office director, was also arrested on suspicion of assisting in the commission of the alleged offenses.

The German News Agency (DPA) reported that investigations indicate that after Hanning’s tenure as head of the intelligence agency ended, Manfred (D.) continued to provide him with classified information and documents from the agency in exchange for money.

According to the investigations, it is suspected that Hanning used some of this information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service.

Hanning served as head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency between 1998 and 2005, before moving to the Ministry of the Interior, where he held the position of State Secretary, and later worked as a security consultant in the private sector.