Former Head Of German Intelligence Arrested On Suspicion Of Espionage

• 6.10.2026, 12:32

The transfer of information continued “for many years.”

The former head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning, has been arrested in Germany. According to German media reports, the Federal Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating the 80-year-old retired official. He is suspected of treason and espionage. It has not yet been disclosed on whose behalf he was acting.

As reported by the newspaper Die Zeit, the investigation is targeting both Hanning himself and another agency employee. They are suspected of “treason, gathering state secrets, and other forms of espionage.”

In this regard, investigators are examining the theory that Hanning “used the information he obtained in his work as a consultant for various companies and may even have intended to sell it.”

Spiegel specifies that the transfer of information continued “for many years.”

The Tagesschau newspaper reports, citing its sources, that “in at least one instance, August Hanning passed information to a foreign intelligence service.”

No further details have been provided yet.