Milan, 6 Oct. (LaPresse) – The former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, August Hanning, has been arrested on suspicion of espionage. This is according to Bild, which reports that Hanning – who held the post from 1998 to 2005 – allegedly purchased confidential information from a former member of the BND’s senior management team in order to “resell it as part of his consultancy work”. According to the German newspaper, the charges relate to treason and espionage on behalf of a foreign power. The Federal Public Prosecutor is investigating both suspects. The pair were tracked down during investigations relating to the trial of the Hamburg businesswoman Christina Block and other defendants accused of the violent abduction of her two children. It was in this context that a report also emerged concerning the apparent leak of information from the BND.
Germany: media reports, former intelligence chief arrested on suspicion of espionage
Milan, 6 Oct. (LaPresse) – The former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, August Hanning, has been arrested on suspicion of espionage. This is according to Bild, which reports that Hanning – who held the post from 1998 to 2005 – allegedly purchased confidential information from a former member of the BND’s senior management team in order to “resell it as part of his consultancy work”. According to the German newspaper, the charges relate to treason and espionage on behalf of a foreign power. The Federal Public Prosecutor is investigating both suspects. The pair were tracked down during investigations relating to the trial of the Hamburg businesswoman Christina Block and other defendants accused of the violent abduction of her two children. It was in this context that a report also emerged concerning the apparent leak of information from the BND.