Former German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) chief, August Hanning, who served as the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service from 1998-2005, was arrested this morning on suspicion of treason. Per reports, including those from the Financial Times, Hanning is accused of collating and transferring, for a fee, thousands of classified documents to a foreign power. Another BND officer, who is still currently serving in the intelligence agency, known as “Manfred D” was also arrested for participating.
Even after Hanning left, the transfers continued, as per a statement from the Federal Prosecutor “Both suspects are believed to have agreed, in the spring of 2010, to have Manfred D continuously transmit valuable intelligence from the Federal Intelligence Service to Hanning in exchange for remuneration.”