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The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of August Hanning on October 6, 2026, on charges that include treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason and espionage for a foreign power. Prosecutors allege that the 80-year-old former BND chief received around 2,000 classified documents from a longtime associate over several years in exchange for payment, with some of the material used to prepare an analysis for an officer of one foreign intelligence service. It remains unclear whether that analysis reached its intended recipient, the federal prosecutor’s office stated in its announcement. A second man identified only as Manfred D was arrested the same day in connection with the case.
Manfred D served as Hanning’s bureau chief during his BND tenure and later held senior positions at the agency until this year, according to the federal prosecutor’s office. The office said the pair had agreed in 2010 that Manfred D would regularly transmit valuable intelligence from the BND to Hanning in return for remuneration, with many of the documents intended solely for internal executive briefings. Manfred D faces charges of aiding and abetting attempted treason as well as treasonous espionage, the prosecutors added. Premises linked to both men were searched in multiple locations including Berlin.
Hanning went on to serve as state secretary in the Federal Interior Ministry until 2009 before entering private consultancy, the Washington Post reported. The federal prosecutor’s office noted that Hanning also maintained close contact for several years with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he passed political information partly based on material from Manfred D. Neither the identities of the foreign services involved nor further details about the information have been disclosed by authorities. Hanning is scheduled to appear before a judge on Wednesday while Manfred D is due in court on Tuesday.
The case represents a significant embarrassment for the BND, which has faced repeated infiltration scandals over the years, according to a Politico assessment. In 2022 authorities arrested a former BND department head identified as Carsten L on suspicion of spying for Russia in exchange for around 400,000 euros, a case that remains before the courts, Deutsche Welle reported. The latest arrests prompted the chairman of the German parliament’s intelligence oversight committee to declare that Germany will not tolerate the betrayal of secrets.
The investigation began after the discovery of an alleged leak of intelligence reports intended for the chancellery, as Bild newspaper first reported before the federal prosecutor’s confirmation. Local media outlets including the BBC noted that Hanning was detained at his home in Nordwalde near Münster while Manfred D was arrested in Bavaria. The federal prosecutor’s office emphasized that the documents contained highly confidential information accessible through Manfred D’s senior roles at the agency.
Hanning headed the BND during a period that included the immediate post-Cold War era when the agency expanded its global operations, according to historical accounts from multiple German news outlets. The current allegations highlight vulnerabilities in post-employment handling of sensitive knowledge, a concern raised in earlier parliamentary reviews of intelligence practices. No additional details on potential national security damage have been released by the authorities as the judicial process begins.
