Hanning arrested in German state-secrets investigation
German prosecutors have detained former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning and another former official over alleged transfers of classified documents. Investigators say the arrangement involved payment and material supplied over years. Searches accompanied the arrests; the foreign intelligence service allegedly involved has not been named, and the accusations remain untested in court.
Geopolitics··Midday
Searches accompany the arrests
German federal prosecutors detained August Hanning, a former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, and another former official on 6 October. The investigation concerns alleged espionage and the transfer of state secrets. Authorities also searched properties as they pursued allegations involving confidential material supplied over a period of years. Hanning’s former agency is the Federal Intelligence Service, known by its German initials BND.[1], [2]
Hanning led the BND between 1998 and 2005, then held a state-secretary position in the federal interior ministry until 2009. The other suspect has been identified as Manfred D. Prosecutors describe his later work in the office management of successive intelligence chiefs, a role that gave him access to sensitive institutional material.[1]
Prosecutors allege transfers of about 2,000 documents
According to prosecutors, the suspects entered an arrangement beginning in 2010 under which documents were supplied in exchange for money. Investigators allege that approximately 2,000 documents reached Hanning through June 2022. Some contained assessments originating from foreign intelligence organisations. The document total and the payment arrangement are allegations made by the prosecution, with no final court determination reported.[1]
Authorities also allege that political information was passed to a representative of another foreign intelligence service. They have not identified the foreign state. Investigative reporting by NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung describes sensitive assessments about Iran’s nuclear programme and Russia’s military among the material; those content details come from the news organisations’ joint investigation.[1]
The federal inquiry began in May 2026
The federal inquiry grew out of findings in another criminal investigation. The official statement places its start in May 2026. The latest step is the detention and search operation, following the investigation into earlier document transfers. Prosecutors’ account sets out an alleged chain between access to intelligence material, paid disclosure and subsequent contacts with a foreign intelligence representative.[1]
The suspects were due to appear before a judge following their detention. Tagesschau said it had sought responses from lawyers and the BND without receiving them by publication. The proceedings remain at an investigative stage: the alleged document transfers, the identity of the foreign contact and the suspects’ criminal liability have not been resolved by a final judgment.[1]
