A Federal Court of Justice judge ordered Hanning, 80, held in custody on Oct. 7 after his arrest the previous day on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason. Prosecutors allege his former office manager, Manfred D., supplied about 2,000 BND documents, many classified, for payment from 2010 to June 2022. Hanning allegedly used the information in private consulting work and to prepare an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer. Both men are in custody, and Hanning has denied wrongdoing.
Investigators are also examining reports that Hanning sought help from former Israeli intelligence officials in a child abduction case involving German businesswoman Christina Block. Prosecutors allege he connected Block to former Israeli intelligence officers. Searches of Hanning’s home and offices in September 2025 during that separate investigation uncovered a storage device containing classified BND material, WDR, NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.