Overview
- Welt am Sonntag reports, citing Hamburg prosecutor materials exceeding 900 pages, that investigators see indications of August Hanning’s involvement in a thwarted 2022 operation.
- According to the files, System 360 allegedly drafted a six-man plan to intercept two children on a Danish school route and transport them to Germany.
- The reported attempt in November 2022 failed when the group was uncovered and Danish police temporarily detained the Germans involved.
- A court order in April 2025 authorized tapping the phones of Hanning and System 360 manager Thorsten Mehles, followed by months of surveillance and searches of Hanning’s home and the firm’s offices.
- Hanning and Mehles deny the allegations; Hanning has invoked his right to refuse testimony and is no longer a witness in the ongoing Hamburg trial of Christina Block, who also denies commissioning the 2023/24 abduction.