Federal prosecutors detained August Hanning this week and said, “Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and espionage.” Hanning is 80 and led the Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, from 1998 to 2005.
Prosecutors allege that his former chief of staff, identified only as Manfred D., gave him about 2,000 documents in exchange for payment. Hanning then used them to draft an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer. The service has not been named.
As a result, Berlin’s credibility with allied agencies will suffer, and the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, will use the affair against the whole political establishment.
Who Received the Analysis?
Prosecutors have refused to name the service that was meant to receive the analysis. German reporting points to Azerbaijan and says investigators are examining Hanning’s contact with an Azerbaijani intelligence officer. Baku denies any involvement.
Azerbaijan borders Iran and Russia. The files reportedly cover Iran’s nuclear programme and the Russian armed forces, so the interest is easy to explain. Prosecutors also allege that Hanning meant to resell the documents, which suggests a commercial motive.
Prosecutors add that Hanning shared political information for years with a representative of a second foreign service, which they also leave unnamed. The inquiry began in Hamburg, in a child abduction case involving former Israeli operatives. Israel therefore appears in speculation, but prosecutors have confirmed no link.
Russia Fills the Silence
The missing name invites guesses about Moscow. Hanning flew to Russia at least seven times between 2015 and 2019, often landing in the evening and leaving the next afternoon. He also advised the Russian division of the London firm G3.
German broadcasters and a newspaper report no Russian connection to the analysis case. Rumours about Hanning’s Russian sympathies date back to his East Berlin postings in the 1980s, and no evidence has ever backed them. His trips still need an explanation, but an itinerary alone proves nothing.
Allied Services Will Share Less
Even without a named client, allied agencies have formed their own view. Conservative lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter judged such espionage cases “particularly burdensome for trust and particularly damaging for Germany.” German reporting adds that allied agencies had classified part of the material as secret, so partners will send Berlin fewer files.
Vetting at the BND looks lax. Manfred D. remained chief of staff to several presidents until March, which gave him privileged access for years after Hanning left. BND president Martin Jaeger insists, “There can be no compromises on internal security.” The allegations against Manfred D. describe a breach of that standard, if proven.
Insider leaks have occurred before. Police arrested a BND employee almost four years ago on suspicion of passing secrets to Russian intelligence. The Hanning case involves a former president and a senior aide, which points to weak oversight at the top of the agency. Berlin is seeking broader powers for its services, and allied governments will ask how it intends to prevent misuse by insiders.
The AfD Gains an Argument
Allied doubt concerns diplomats, but the home front offers the AfD an opening. The party won nearly 21% of the vote last year and holds 152 of 630 Bundestag seats. Lawmakers from the governing parties accused it of acting as a “sleeper cell loyal to Russia”, pointing to its detailed parliamentary questions on the army and infrastructure. The party calls the accusations absurd.
Hanning’s case gives party spokesmen a ready reply. Reports place the analysis outside Russia, so they can point to Hanning and ask who truly betrays Germany. The comparison misleads, because the accusations against the AfD concern its own Moscow-friendly trips and parliamentary questions, which Hanning’s case does not change.
Fairness therefore calls for separate treatment of the Hanning case and the AfD’s Russia record. Hanning has the right to a presumption of innocence, and the arrest warrant from the Federal Court of Justice opens a long process.
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