Former German Intelligence Chief Arrested on Espionage and Treason Charges

Overview

• Federal prosecutors arrested August Hanning and ex-BND office manager Manfred D. on Tuesday on suspicion of espionage, attempted treason and related offenses.
• Prosecutors say Manfred D. supplied roughly 2,000 internal and highly classified BND documents over years and that Hanning paid for those materials to produce an analysis for a foreign intelligence agent.
• Authorities have not officially named the foreign service that allegedly received the material, though reporting from Süddeutsche Zeitung says the case does not involve Russia.
• BND president Martin Jaeger has opened extensive internal investigations and said the agency will tolerate no lapses in internal security as federal prosecutors pursue charges.
• The arrests risk damaging trust with intelligence partners, will determine whether shared allied material was exposed, and move next to judicial review at the Federal Court of Justice where pretrial proceedings will decide formal charges.