Germany's biggest spy scandal? Former intelligence chief arrested on suspicion of espionage

Germany's former intelligence chief August Hanning has been arrested on suspicion of espionage, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The police arrested Hanning, 80, after Germany's federal prosecutor's office announced charges including espionage, disclosure of state secrets, attempted treason and working as a secret service agent.

"Hanning is strongly ⁠suspected of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets, attempted treason and espionage," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The prosecutor's office did not say which foreign intelligence service Hanning is suspected of working for.

Hanning headed Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency from December 1998 to November 2005. He later moved to the Federal Interior Ministry, where he served as state secretary until November 2009.

A second former high-ranking BND employee was also arrested in the case, according to the prosecutor's office. The man is accused of providing Hanning with hundreds of classified documents after Hanning had left the intelligence agency. He allegedly did so in exchange for payment.

The second person was Hanning's chief of staff during his tenure as BND chief. He later worked under Hanning at the Interior Ministry until 2009. According to the report, he is facing charges of "aiding and abetting attempted treason and espionage against the state".

German opposition lawmaker Konstantin von Notz, who is also a member of the oversight committee, called the allegations "deeply troubling" and demanded a "swift and thorough investigation".

Some described the case as Germany's "biggest espionage scandal of the century".

Reuters reported that prosecutors accused him of paying for secret documents and using them in an analysis for a foreign spy service.

Prosecutors said Hanning had used classified information to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service and for years shared political information ​with a representative of the spy ​agency.

The case does not involve Russia, ⁠according to information obtained by Sueddeutsche Zeitung.