Espionage Scandal in Germany: Ex-Spy Chief Arrested For Attempted Treason
Former BND chief August Hanning's arrest is a mind-bending case of Iranian nuclear files, Israeli operatives and a steakhouse heiress accused of kidnapping her own kids.
In the past few days, a truly mind-bending espionage scandal has broken in Germany. August Hanning, who ran the country's foreign intelligence service, the BND, from 1998 to 2005, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted treason and espionage. Prosecutors allege he bought classified documents from his former chief of staff and used them for profit in his private consultancy work. At this stage, we don't know which country's intelligence service he is accused of working with, but initial reporting says it was not Russia.
But the story only gets stranger from there, weaving in a Hamburg steakhouse heiress on trial for allegedly ordering the kidnapping of her own children, a former Israeli military intelligence officer, false allegations of paedophilia, and papers on the Iranian nuclear programme.
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