BERLIN: Germany’s former foreign spy chief was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of espionage, accused of seeking to pass sensitive information to overseas intelligence services, prosecutors said.

August Hanning, who ran Germany’s BND intelligence agency between 1998 and 2005, is suspected of charges including “attempted treason” and “espionage”, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.

Hanning’s former chief of staff, partially named as Manfred D., was also arrested on suspicion of “aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage”.

Premises linked to both men are being searched in several locations including the capital Berlin.

Prosecutors say that Manfred D. also served as the chief of staff for Hanning’s successors between 2012 and 2026, and used this role to gain access to confidential information which he then passed on to Hanning “in exchange for remuneration”.

“The current findings suggest that, over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately two thousand documents, many of which contained classified information to be used exclusively by the Federal Intelligence Service for internal purposes,” prosecutors say.

They allege that “on one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence … to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service”, although it is not clear if “the material reached the intended recipient”.

Hanning is also accused of being “in close contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he passed on political information, partially based on material provided by Manfred D., for several years”.