August Hanning, the former head of Germany's federal foreign intelligence service (BND), has been charged with treasonous espionage. He is accused of handing state secrets to a foreign power in what is described as one of the most significant alleged intelligence breaches of the postwar period.
Federal prosecutors believe Hanning, 80, ran his former chief of staff, identified as Manfred D, as a mole at the BND. It is alleged that Manfred D was paid to spirit out nearly 2,000 documents, some of which were classified, over a 12-year period. Hanning then allegedly exploited this intelligence for clients of a private consulting firm he launched after his retirement.
Hanning, who led the BND from 1998 to 2005, is currently in pretrial detention. Through his lawyers, he has denied passing on confidential documents to foreign powers. If convicted, he could face a prison sentence of 10 years.
The compromised files are believed to include briefing papers prepared for top officials, including the chancellor. Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, former BND vice-president, described the material as the “crown jewels of the BND”. A western official reportedly told Reuters that US foreign intelligence was included in documents allegedly stolen from the BND.
The detention of Hanning, who was arrested by masked commandos in Nordwalde, has been described by experts as a first in a western democracy given his previous rank. Luca Manns, managing director of the Intelligence Services Research Unit at the University of Cologne, called the case a “stab to the heart” of the BND, suggesting it could cause incalculable damage to allied cooperation.