Ex-BND chief Hanning remanded in custody in espionage case — France 24
In Germany, a court on Wednesday ordered former head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) August Hanning to remain in pretrial detention. The 80-year-old Hanning was detained on Tuesday, and the following day a judge issued an arrest warrant for him. As France 24 reports, he is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets through espionage, attempted treason and espionage.
Suspicions over documents
Hanning headed the BND from 1998 to 2005. His former assistant, Manfred D., was detained along with him; his full name has not been disclosed in accordance with German personal data protection rules. He is already in custody and is suspected of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
According to the federal prosecutor's office, in 2010 the men agreed that Manfred D. would regularly provide Hanning with valuable foreign intelligence information in exchange for payment. Manfred D. served as chief of staff to several subsequent BND presidents from 2012 to 2026. Prosecutors claim that Hanning used the data he received for his own financial interests in private consulting work.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
According to the investigation, over 12 years, until June 2022, Manfred D. passed approximately 2,000 documents to the former head. Many of them contained classified information for intelligence briefings for the leadership. Prosecutors also said that Hanning may have had access to information intended exclusively for internal use by the BND.
Contacts with foreign intelligence services
In one episode, Hanning, according to the prosecutor's office, used classified data to prepare an analytical report for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. Investigators have not yet established whether the intended recipient received this report. In another case, Hanning is alleged to have passed on information after a lengthy exchange with an officer of another intelligence service.
The prosecutor's office did not disclose on behalf of which foreign intelligence services the suspects may have acted. Sebastian Hille, a spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government, said that the federal government takes the case seriously and supports the investigative authorities. Mark Henrichmann, head of the parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence services, said that the data leak had caused concern in the German and international intelligence communities.
