The case against the former head of German Intelligence, August Hanning, is seriously sketchy.
Hanning, 80, was arrested in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany. His former Chief of Staff, Manfred D., was also arrested Tuesday in Steinfurt in western Germany and has been charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
Police were investigating Hanning in 2025 in relation to his involvement in organizing a kidnapping plot. When police searched his residence, they found documents outlining his activity in receiving state secrets from inside German intelligence and selling classified analysis to a foreign government (not Russia).
Apparently when Hanning left as head of German intelligence, his chief of staff “Manfred” remained at work. Manfred then continued to give Hanning information from inside German intelligence, which Hanning then used to sell his services to foreign enterprises.
The information Manfred gave Hanning related to intelligence on Russia and Iran that Germany gathered from partnerships with the USA and Israel. In essence, Hanning was selling 5-eyes secret intelligence on Russia and Iran, to foreign interests. Hanning was receiving the intelligence from Manfred, his former chief of staff.
GERMANY – A former German spy chief was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of espionage and treason, an embarrassing case at a time when the country is seeking to broaden the powers of its intelligence agencies.
August Hanning, who ran Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency from 1998 to 2005, is accused of espionage, treason and working for foreign intelligence services, federal prosecutors said.
They did not say which foreign powers were involved. However, AFP understands it was not Russia.








