Berlin wants spies who can sabotage. Its ex-spy chief is accused of selling secrets.
Prosecutors say August Hanning paid a former chief of staff for about 2,000 BND files over 12 years. The arrest lands as Berlin asks parliament to let its spies sabotage and hack.
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by Sami Haddad
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August Hanning, Germany's former foreign intelligence chief, was arrested on October 6, 2026, accused by prosecutors of paying an insider for about 2,000 BND documents over 12 years. The alleged supplier served as chief of staff to successive agency presidents. The arrest came one day after the current chief promised lawmakers a "new BND" with wider powers.
Federal prosecutors suspect Hanning, 80, of espionage, attempted treason and spying out state secrets. They say he used some of the documents in private consulting work, prepared an analysis using classified information for an employee of a foreign intelligence service and exchanged political information over several years with an employee of another foreign service. His former chief of staff, identified as Manfred D., was arrested the same day on suspicion of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
These are prosecutorial allegations, not findings. Neither foreign service has been named, and it is not established whether the analysis reached its intended recipient. No response from Hanning to the espionage allegations has been published. Both men were due before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice, with no custody decision yet reported.
The timing hurts Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government. It is asking parliament to authorise sabotage and offensive cyber operations by the BND, while prosecutors investigate whether secrets were bought from inside its executive offices. On October 5, BND president Martin Jäger warned lawmakers that Germany risked being drawn into a "violent conflict" with Russia.
That warning does not establish any Russian connection to Hanning's alleged conduct. The political collision is nevertheless direct: Berlin must make the case for a more powerful intelligence service while explaining how its existing secrets were protected.
