The former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, August Hanning, has been arrested on suspicion of treason and espionage in favor of a foreign intelligence service.
The 80-year-old, who headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, was arrested on Tuesday at his home in Nordwalde, near Münster.
At the same time, authorities also arrested his former chief of staff, identified as Manfred D., in Bavaria. He is suspected of aiding and abetting attempted treason and espionage.
According to the German prosecution, Manfred D. used his position within the BND to obtain classified documents and then handed them over to Hanning in exchange for payments.
Investigators suspect that over the years Hanning has received around 2,000 documents, many of which contained secret information that was intended only for internal use by the German intelligence service.
Prosecutors suspect that Hanning intended to use these materials in his activity as a private consultant, after leaving the BND, and to sell the information for financial gain.
Some of the material is suspected of being used to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. However, German authorities have not yet determined whether the information ended up with the person it was intended for.
Hanning is also suspected of passing sensitive political information to a person with ties to another foreign intelligence service for years.
The former BND chief has denied the charges through his legal team. Manfred D. is also expected to face legal proceedings, while authorities have searched several properties linked to the two arrested, including in Berlin.
The case has caused great concern in political and intelligence circles in Germany, as Hanning is one of the highest-ranking officials to be accused of treason in the country in recent decades.
The suspicions against him emerged during another investigation into the kidnapping of children from a prominent Hamburg business family. Investigators suspect that Hanning helped Christina Block, heiress to a well-known restaurant group, organize the kidnapping of her children in Denmark. Hanning and Block deny the charges.
After leaving the BND in 2005, Hanning worked as an international security and business consultant. He had established connections with political and business circles in countries such as Russia and China, while also having contacts with senior intelligence officials in Israel.
Hanning had previously served as an officer in East Berlin during the divided Germany. After ending his tenure as head of the BND, he took on another important role in the German security sector, heading all security agencies under the authority of then-Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.
If the charges against him are proven, the case could be considered one of the most serious cases of leaking secret information in Germany since the Cold War period./ TvKlan
