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Washington warns Berlin after former German intelligence chief arrested for espionage
U.S. intelligence agencies warned Germany that intelligence-sharing could be suspended after August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, was arrested on espionage charges. Berlin, however, says cooperation remains unrestricted.
U.S. intelligence agencies warned Germany that the flow of intelligence to the country could be suspended after August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, was arrested on espionage charges, German public broadcaster’s news program Tagesschau reported.
Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the U.S. warning reached the agency days after Hanning’s arrest and that Washington was reviewing its previous cooperation with him.
Charges of treason
Hanning, 80, who headed the agency between 1998 and 2005 before serving as a deputy interior minister, was arrested on October 6 and is being held in pretrial detention. Federal prosecutors accuse him of conducting intelligence activities on behalf of a foreign entity, espionage, collecting state secrets and attempting high treason.
According to investigators, his former office director, identified as Manfred D., agreed with him in 2010 to regularly provide agency information in exchange for money. The total amount he allegedly leaked was about 2,000 documents, which Hanning used in his consulting work. German media indicate that the information may have reached China, while Hanning denies the allegations.
If the allegations are proven, the case would be Germany’s most serious espionage scandal since the Second World War.
Berlin: Cooperation continues
Meanwhile, German security sources told the German Press Agency that there are currently no restrictions on cooperation between the agency and U.S. intelligence services, and that some working meetings were postponed before being rescheduled.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said from Atlanta, on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, that he could not envisage restrictions on intelligence cooperation. He said the relationship between the countries’ intelligence services was “very successful and based on trust.”
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