Daniel Wolfram
A wild espionage case is unfolding in Germany that even has ties to Denmark.
August Hanning, the former chief who directed the country’s foreign intelligence agency from 1998 to 2005, was taken into custody in southern Germany after German authorities arrested him during a raid. He now faces charges of treason and espionage.
Police also arrested his former chief of staff, identified under local privacy laws as Manfred D. Prosecutors say Manfred D. held key positions for several agency chiefs until 2026, giving him continuous access to sensitive intelligence files.
“The current findings suggest that, over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many of which contained classified information to be used exclusively by the federal intelligence service for internal purposes, particularly for executive intelligence briefings,” German federal prosecutors said in a statement, according to NPR.
State secrets and child abduction
According to the prosecutor’s office, Hanning used those files for private consulting work. On at least one occasion, he allegedly used the stolen intelligence to draft an analysis for a foreign spy officer.
The connection between Hanning and treason was formed during a separate case.
German news agency dpa reported that Hanning fell under suspicion over a 2024 child abduction case. Police searched his home for kidnapping clues. Instead, they found state secrets.
Christina Block, the restaurateur and multi-millionaire, has been accused of trying to kidnap her two young children in Denmark with the help of former Israeli agents. She has since lost custody of her two children.
Shockwaves in Berlin
Federal prosecutors have not yet disclosed which foreign country received the leaked material, or whether every document reached its target.
The Guardian has reported that the German police allege that Hanning was the one who made the initial contact between Block and the Israelis who are believed to have carried out the abduction in Denmark. Hanning has denied any involvement in that case.
Following Hanning’s arrest, politicians in Germany are calling for a ban on former security officials working in the private sector after they leave office because of their knowledge of sensitive information pertaining to the security of Germany.
