The former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning, who was arrested for espionage, was allegedly preparing an analytical report for Azerbaijani intelligence, Der Spiegel reports, citing the results of the investigation.

Hanning was arrested on Tuesday. Along with him, law enforcement officers arrested a former senior German intelligence officer, Manfred D., who previously headed Hanning's staff and worked for the German intelligence service until the spring of 2026. Searches were also conducted at the suspects' homes.

As per Der Spiegel, Hanning received unknown "secret" documents through his former chief of staff at the BND and used them to compile a report. Then, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the document was to be sent to "an employee of a foreign intelligence security apparatus."

According to Der Spiegel, the alleged client was an Azerbaijani intelligence officer. It is not known whether the analysis had reached the addressee.

Der Spiegel notes that Hanning's contacts with Azerbaijani representatives were not kept secret. The former head of the BND was a member of the board of the German-Azerbaijani Forum.

Hanning headed the BND from 1998 to 2005. After leaving intelligence, he became State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, and later engaged in entrepreneurial activities.

The investigation into Hanning began in September 2025 after searches of his home and offices in another case: the alleged abduction of the children of businesswoman Christina Block. While examining the seized materials, the police discovered an electronic storage device with secret documents from German intelligence. The materials were then handed over to the German federal authorities. And in May 2026, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor of Germany opened an investigation into Hanning and the alleged source of the information in the intelligence service.

According to investigators, until June 2022, Manfred D. had provided Hanning with about 2,000 documents, including many materials with a confidentiality stamp, in exchange for money.