Overview
- German federal investigators from the Generalbundesanwalt and BKA took 80‑year‑old August Hanning into custody on Tuesday and also arrested his former aide Manfred D., who was detained in Bavaria.
- Prosecutors say they are probing Hanning for landesverräterische Ausspähung, Auskundschaften von Staatsgeheimnissen, attempted treason and secret‑agent activity while Manfred D. faces charges of aiding those offenses.
- The case began after LKA Hamburg found an electronic data carrier during September 2025 searches in the Block child‑abduction inquiry and handed highly classified material to federal authorities.
- Investigators say roughly 2,000 documents were exchanged, many being ND‑Lage briefings for the Bundeskanzleramt with files dated as recently as June 2022, and forensic teams are still examining the seized evidence.
- Authorities are investigating whether Hanning used the documents for private consulting and whether at least one analysis reached a foreign intelligence service, a development that could damage BND cooperation with partners and trigger rapid parliamentary oversight.