The arrest of former Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) chief August Hanning and his former chief of staff, Manfred D., reportedly prompted US intelligence services to warn that cooperation with Germany could be revised. The BND has reportedly been instructed to report any changes in cooperation directly. The United States is said to continue sharing information in urgent cases, including terrorist attacks, but it is unclear what other information may no longer be provided. Some BND employees reportedly believe that the volume and quality of information from the US have declined, while German government sources describe cooperation as still normal.

Hanning and D. were arrested separately on October 6. Hanning, who led the BND from 1998 to 2005, is suspected of espionage, obtaining state secrets and treason. D., who worked for the BND until this spring, is suspected of aiding treason. Hanning allegedly accessed classified documents for years with D.’s assistance and used them to prepare a security analysis for a foreign intelligence service. Police reportedly seized hundreds of additional documents at Hanning’s home after an earlier search found about 2,000 classified documents, including material on Iran’s nuclear program and the Russian army. The documents are being examined, witnesses are being questioned and the BND is conducting an internal investigation. Hanning denies the allegations.