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The man who led Germany’s intelligence agency from 1998 to 2005 has been arrested on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason, according to the country’s federal prosecutor’s office.
The office announced on Tuesday that August Hanning, 80, was arrested and faces charges including “treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason” through contact with foreign intelligence services.
The office has not specified which country or countries Hanning is accused of working for.
Citing unnamed sources, however, German news outlet Der Spiegel reported that Hanning was in contact with an Azerbaijan intelligence agency representative. In 2025, prosecutors also accused Hanning of ties with Israeli spies in a separate case which ultimately led them to the ex-intelligence boss’s alleged espionage for other agencies.
If found guilty, treason carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in Germany.
German news outlet Deutsche Welle described Hanning’s arrest as Germany’s “biggest espionage scandal of the century”.
www.aljazeera.com
German ex-spy chief arrested for treason: What we know
Former top spy August Hanning led the Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005 and later worked at Germany’s Interior Ministry.The man who led Germany’s intelligence agency from 1998 to 2005 has been arrested on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason, according to the country’s federal prosecutor’s office.
The office announced on Tuesday that August Hanning, 80, was arrested and faces charges including “treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason” through contact with foreign intelligence services.
The office has not specified which country or countries Hanning is accused of working for.
Citing unnamed sources, however, German news outlet Der Spiegel reported that Hanning was in contact with an Azerbaijan intelligence agency representative. In 2025, prosecutors also accused Hanning of ties with Israeli spies in a separate case which ultimately led them to the ex-intelligence boss’s alleged espionage for other agencies.
If found guilty, treason carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in Germany.
German news outlet Deutsche Welle described Hanning’s arrest as Germany’s “biggest espionage scandal of the century”.
German ex-spy chief arrested for treason: What we know
Former top spy August Hanning led the Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005.
