Arrested Former German Spy Chief Had Longstanding Contacts With Chinese General, Spiegel Reports; Lawyer Denies Wrongdoing
On October 9, 2026, Reuters reported, citing Spiegel magazine, that August Hanning, Germany's former spy chief arrested on suspicion of espionage, had longstanding contacts with a former senior Chinese general. Spiegel said Hanning, who left the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in 2005, had travelled to China several times, where he knew a former major general, Wang Jianzheng, who had served in China's embassy in formerly communist East Germany, was an established expert on German issues and had translated a number of German books into Chinese.
Hanning was detained earlier that week on suspicion of sharing information from confidential documents provided by his former chief of staff with foreign intelligence agents. The alleged activities took place after his retirement, when he worked as an independent security consultant. Prosecutors have not commented on what material they believe may have been shared, or with whom. Hanning's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but in a statement to Spiegel denied his client had damaged German interests and said he was being wrongfully prosecuted.
Hanning led the BND from 1998 to 2005 and then served as a state secretary in the Federal Interior Ministry from 2005 to 2009. Reuters photo captions dated the arrest to October 6, on suspicion of attempted treason and obtaining state secrets, with his former chief of staff also under investigation. The BND's headquarters are in Berlin.
The case has shaken Germany's political and security establishment: an espionage accusation against a former intelligence chief is exceedingly rare in postwar Germany. Investigators are expected to focus on the provenance of documents, payments and foreign contacts, and with prosecutors yet to specify what material may have been shared, the scope of the case awaits the judicial process. Hanning is presumed innocent.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 柏林联邦情报局总部的机构标识。摄影：Olaf Kosinsky，CC BY-SA 3.0 de，来源：Wikimedia Commons
