(Adnkronos) – The former head of the German intelligence service Bnd, August Hanning, has been arrested on suspicion of espionage. This was reported by Bild and Dpa. Hanning led the Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005. The charges, Bild writes, are violation of state secrets, high treason, and espionage on behalf of a foreign power. Hanning allegedly purchased classified information – in exchange for money – from a former member of the Bnd’s executive staff. The purpose, according to the same sources, would have been to resell such information “within the scope of his consulting activities”. The Federal Prosecutor has initiated investigations against both suspects.
Investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bka), Bild writes, arrested Hanning in the early hours of the morning at his home in Nordwalde, near Münster. Simultaneously, in Bavaria, agents arrested another former high-ranking Bnd official, identified by his first name and the initial of his surname, Manfred D., who had previously served as Hanning’s chief of staff and worked for the Bnd until spring 2026.
