FORMER GERMAN SPY CHIEF ARRESTED OVER ESPIONAGE ALLEGATIONS

Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office says it has arrested August Hanning, who led the country's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, between 1998 and 2005, on suspicion of espionage, treason and obtaining classified information for a foreign power. Hanning, who has worked as a private consultant since leaving the BND, is alleged by prosecutors to have used classified intelligence to draft an analysis for an officer of one foreign intelligence service and to have maintained contact with a representative of another. Prosecutors have not disclosed which foreign powers are allegedly involved. A former BND employee identified as Manfred D was also arrested, accused of supplying Hanning with around 2,000 classified documents in exchange for payment. Local media reported that Hanning was detained at his home in Nordwalde, near Münster, while Manfred D was arrested in Bavaria.

Prosecutors say Manfred D served as Hanning's bureau chief and later as chief of staff to Hanning's successors at the BND, a position he allegedly used to access highly confidential material intended solely for the agency's internal use. According to the prosecutors' statement, he passed roughly 2,000 such documents to Hanning over several years "in exchange for remuneration", and remained employed by the BND until this year. He faces charges of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage, while Hanning faces the more serious allegations of treason and espionage. Prosecutors say that on one occasion Hanning used classified intelligence to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service, though it remains unclear whether the material reached its intended recipient. Hanning is due in court on Wednesday, with Manfred D scheduled to appear on Tuesday.

Local media reported that Hanning's alleged possession of classified documents came to light during a separate case involving Christina Block, a German steakhouse heiress. Hamburg's public prosecutor's office has accused Block of orchestrating the kidnapping of her two youngest children in 2023 amid a custody dispute. Prosecutors have not fully explained the connection between the two cases. The proceedings against Hanning represent a rare instance of a former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service facing prosecution over alleged espionage for other states, with further detail expected once both men appear in court this week.