Prosecutors accused him of paying for secret documents and using them in an analysis for a foreign spy service. They did not identify the intelligence service and it was not immediately clear whether the analysis reached its intended recipient, Reuters reported.
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The arrest of a former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence is unprecedented and could damage the country’s intelligence relationships with allied nations, according to a senior security lawmaker.”Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and espionage,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Hanning did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The chancellery declined to comment.
Five years after his seven-year tenure as head of the BND foreign intelligence service ended in 2005, Hanning agreed with a former BND office manager to receive confidential intelligence information in exchange for payment, according to prosecutors.
The office manager, identified as Manfred D. in line with privacy rules, was also arrested on Tuesday, and both were due to appear before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice.
Manfred D. served as office manager to successive BND presidents until March 2026, potentially giving him access to some of Germany’s most current intelligence at the time that prosecutors say documents were being siphoned from the service.
