Kommentar: Das Kanzleramt muss im BND aufräumen
Die Vorwürfe gegen August Hanning treffen den Geheimdienst ins Mark. Auf dem Spiel steht das Vertrauen der Partnerdienste, ohne deren Hinweise Deutschland gefährlich verwundbar wäre.
An internal investigation has revealed that nearly 2000 confidential documents were obtained for monetary gain. If confirmed, as claims the Federal Prosecutor August Hanning and his former BND aide, it would suggest that a former president of Germany's foreign intelligence agency, BND, used secret information for private business dealings.
Hanning himself has not been convicted, but the Chancellor's office cannot afford to wait until the end of the criminal proceedings to examine the events. Spy suspicions are currently targeting the BND during a tense global situation, where Germany urgently needs a competent and reliable intelligence service.
Remarkably, the BND has not been the first to face accusations of betrayal among its ranks. In 2014, Markus R. served as a CIA spy, providing over 200 documents. In 2016, he was sentenced to eight years in prison. In December 2022, Carsten L. was detained on suspicion of supplying secrets to the Russian domestic intelligence service, the FSB. Former BND President Bruno Kahl described it as a "serious reputational damage".
These cases do not definitively prove Hanning's guilt, but they do highlight the question of what lessons the BND has learned from past incidents. According to the Federal Prosecutor, Hanning allegedly had access to information intended solely for internal matters of the German foreign intelligence service for a period of possibly twelve years. How is this possible? Which controls failed? Who should have noticed something?
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
