Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief, August Hanning, was taken into custody as part of an investigation into treason and espionage allegations.
Hanning is “strongly suspected” of treasonous espionage, spying on state secrets, attempted treason and espionage, Germany’s federal prosecutor said Tuesday in a statement. Police also arrested a second person described as Manfred D., who is charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
Hanning, 80, led the Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, from 1998 to 2005. After his departure, he founded a company called HanningConsult GmbH with his wife. The allegations relate to his time as a private consultant.
German authorities have intensified efforts to fight espionage in recent months, and Hanning is one of the most prominent suspects thus far. Previous arrests focusing on people trying to obtain military and corporate secrets in industries like the auto sector.
Germany’s federal prosecutor said Hanning and Manfred D. are believed to have agreed in 2010 to have Manfred D. continuously pass on valuable intelligence from the Federal Intelligence Service to Hanning in exchange for money. Hanning allegedly used the information — which comprised about 2,000 documents — for his consulting work.
Germany’s intelligence service launched “extensive internal investigations early on and without delay, which corroborated the suspicions,” current BND chief Martin Jäger said in a statement. “There can be no compromises when it comes to internal security. None of my goals, none of my priorities are called into question by this incident.”
Many of the documents in question contained classified information that the Federal Intelligence Service used for internal purposes, particularly for executive intelligence briefings. These briefings helped inform senior officials from federal ministries and different German security agencies at the Federal Chancellery, according to prosecutors.
“On one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence provided by Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service,” according to the federal prosecutor’s statement. It’s unclear if the material reached the recipient.
Additionally, Hanning is accused of passing on political information to a close contact in another foreign intelligence service. The information was partially based on material provided by Manfred D., prosecutors said.
Hanning had links to an agent from Azerbaijan, Der Spiegel magazine reported later on Tuesday, without identifying the source of its information.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the Spiegel report, while the BND didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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