Former German intelligence chief August Gunning detained on suspicion of espionage and treason

Police have detained the former head of Germanyʼs Federal Intelligence Service (BND) August Gunning on suspicion of espionage and treason.

The prosecutorʼs office reports this.

He is also suspected of revealing state secrets. In addition, another former employee of the department Manfred D. was detained and is suspected of aiding and abetting, attempted treason, and espionage.

Gunning served as head of the BND from 1998 to 2005. Manfred D. worked in the agency until spring 2026 and had access to classified information.

According to the investigation, in the spring of 2010, the suspects agreed that Manfred D. would provide Gunning with valuable BND intelligence in exchange for money. Gunning planned to use this information to provide private services.

Investigators determined that Manfred D. provided Gunning with about two thousand documents, and their collaboration lasted for years. Law enforcement officers recorded at least one instance in which Gunning prepared a report for a foreign intelligence service based on this data.

According to investigators, Gunning was also in constant contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence agency, to whom he passed political information, partly based on materials from Manfred D.

Today, the suspects will be transferred to the Federal Court, which will officially inform them of the suspicions and choose a preventive measure.

According to an investigation by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR and WDR, Gunning received confidential assessments of the situation from foreign partners from Manfred D., as well as documents on the Iranian nuclear program and the Russian army.

Media sources note that Gunning came to the attention of the investigation after a search of his home and offices in another case, where investigators found a flash drive with classified information.

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