USA Threatens Germany With Review of Intelligence Cooperation Following Arrest of Former Intelligence Chief

U.S. intelligence agencies warned Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) that they might reconsider intelligence cooperation following the arrest of the agency’s former director, August Hanning.

This notification caused serious concern among German intelligence officials, according to the German media outlet Tagesschau.

In early October, German law enforcement detained Hanning and his former chief of staff, Manfred D.

According to the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Hanning gained access to confidential documents with the help of a BND employee over a period of approximately 12 years.

In at least one instance, he allegedly attempted to pass on classified information to foreign entities.

The investigation is looking into allegations of attempted treason, disclosure of state secrets, espionage on behalf of a foreign state, and activities on behalf of foreign intelligence services.

Hanning denies the charges. His attorney stated that the former BND chief did not disclose any German state secrets.

U.S. intervention in the case

According to journalists, a few days after Hanning’s arrest, U.S. intelligence agencies informed their German counterparts that further cooperation with the BND would be reviewed.

At the same time, the U.S. assured Germany that it would continue to share information in urgent cases, particularly regarding potential terrorist threats.

This warning caused significant concern within German intelligence. Germany has relied on the exchange of intelligence with the U.S. for decades, so a reduction in this exchange could seriously weaken the capabilities of German security agencies. According to sources in Berlin, BND leadership has been instructed to immediately report any changes in cooperation with American partners.

Officially, the German side denies any significant restrictions on cooperation. Security officials state that the exchange of information is proceeding as usual, and that only a few working meetings have been postponed, for which new dates have already been set.

At the same time, some BND employees claim that the volume and quality of information received from the U.S. have, in their opinion, declined.

The Manfred D. Case

Investigators are paying particular attention to the role of Manfred D., who is suspected of passing documents to Hanning. Specifically, law enforcement officials are trying to determine why the BND allowed him to hold a paid side job for many years. In his documents regarding his side job, he allegedly stated that he was performing office work for a former intelligence chief.

Manfred D. began his career at the BND in the 1990s as a security guard and later served as a personal assistant to four agency heads.

He last held this position in the fall of 2025, under the new BND chief, Martin Jäger. Due to his proximity to the leadership, the employee had special status, so he was likely monitored less closely than other employees. He retired in the spring of 2026.

According to preliminary findings by an internal BND working group, Manfred D. may have secretly removed documents from the agency in paper form. In addition, investigators found evidence of email correspondence between him and Hanning sent directly from the intelligence network.

Those responsible for protecting state secrets may have been aware of this several years ago, but failed to take appropriate action at the time. The BND declined to comment on possible shortcomings in its internal security system, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

Hanning’s attorney called the allegations baseless, specifically denying that his client had paid for the confidential documents. The full extent of the potential information leak and its implications for Germany’s cooperation with the United States remain unclear at this time.