Germany's former intelligence chief, August Hanning, has been formally arrested and ordered into pre-trial detention by a judge. The 80-year-old was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of treason and spying for an overseas intelligence agency.
According to the country's office of the federal prosecutor, Hanning is accused of purchasing secret documents from a former colleague and using them to advise a foreign intelligence service. Hanning's lawyer stated on Wednesday that while he was in possession of confidential documents, the allegation that he passed on information to Germany's detriment or for payment is incorrect.
Hanning, who led Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) between 1998 and 2005, is alleged to have agreed in 2010 to pay for information from Manfred D, an official who then smuggled it out of the BND. Prosecutors believe Hanning received approximately 2,000 documents from Manfred D until June 2022, some of which were classified, and allegedly used this information for private consulting work.
Manfred D, Hanning's former office head, was also placed under formal arrest on Wednesday. Prosecutors were reportedly alerted to Hanning's alleged activities by investigators working on a separate child kidnapping case, in which Hanning is accused of participating using contacts with Israeli intelligence.