Former German spy chief arrested on espionage charges. He made at least seven trips to Russia after leaving office.
Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office said it detained August Hanning, the former head of the country’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason. His former bureau chief, Manfred D., was detained along with him.
Hanning led the BND from December 1998 to November 2005. Investigators said that in 2010, he arranged for Manfred D. to pass him classified intelligence agency information in exchange for money. By 2022, Hanning had obtained roughly 2,000 internal BND documents, including materials on Iran’s nuclear program and the Russian armed forces.
In one instance, he used the documents to prepare an analytical report for an officer of a foreign intelligence service, though it is not clear which country was involved. Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, and WDR reported that this episode was not connected to Russia.
Hanning also communicated for many years with another foreign intelligence officer, whose country is also unclear, and passed him political information, including material he obtained from Manfred D.
The Insider, an independent Russian investigative outlet, found that Hanning flew to Russia at least seven times between 2015 and 2019. The trips were short, with some lasting less than a day.
Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that rumors about Hanning’s ties to Russia have circulated since his diplomatic work in East Berlin during the era of East Germany, though no evidence ever supported them.
In 2013, Hanning testified in a London court case as a security expert, backing businessman Oleg Deripaska in a dispute over the sale of a stake in Rusal.
Hanning also worked as a consultant in the Russian division of the London consulting firm G3 and served on the supervisory board of the Latvian PNB Banka. While working at PNB, he acted as a mediator in a dispute between two businessmen of Russian origin. Security firms linked to Hanning also include people with ties to Russia.
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