German intelligence concealed details on Covid origin for years, reports say
According to reports, Germany’s foreign intelligence agency has allegedly hidden documents indicating that the origins of Covid-19 may be linked to a lab leak. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, reportedly gathered evidence in the early days of the pandemic indicating that Covid-19 originated in a laboratory, according to reports from Die Zeit and Sueddeutsche Zeitung. However, Berlin chose to keep this conclusion confidential due to concerns over potential political repercussions and the risk of error, the media outlets stated based on their own investigations.
In the early weeks of 2020, the BND dispatched a team of experts to delve into the origins of the virus, focusing on Chinese governmental bodies and scientific institutions, including the Wuhan laboratory. They allegedly unearthed documents that the German media has characterized as “fascinating and explosive.”
The intelligence agency's findings purportedly contained data about coronavirus experiments and several unpublished studies from 2019 and 2020, particularly regarding the impact of coronaviruses on the human brain.
“The material suggests that an unusually large amount of knowledge about the supposedly novel virus was available in Wuhan at an unusually early stage,” Die Zeit reported.
A team of BND analysts, led by a virologist, evaluated the documents. They cross-referenced the information with publicly available studies and materials from other countries, concluding “with 80 to 95% certainty” that Covid “likely originated in a Chinese laboratory.” The BND reportedly suspected that the outbreak was due to an accident linked to inadequate safety protocols at the Wuhan lab.
The results were presented to former Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, which was skeptical and opted not to disseminate the information, even to the World Health Organization and the German parliament. This decision was reportedly influenced by fears of straining relations with Beijing and Washington.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s successor administration also reportedly found the BND’s conclusions unconvincing initially and opted to keep them confidential. It wasn't until late 2024 that the BND was permitted to share its findings with the CIA and a select group of scientists.
In January 2025, the CIA expressed that it believed “with low confidence” that Covid-19 likely had its origins in a lab setting. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has consistently rejected the lab-leak theory, while another prominent theory posits that Covid-19 emerged from a natural source, specifically through zoonotic transmission from animals to humans.
In response to inquiries from SZ and Die Zeit, Berlin announced that it would share the BND findings with the German parliament and the WHO and intends to make some materials related to the scientific assessment public in the future.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
In the early weeks of 2020, the BND dispatched a team of experts to delve into the origins of the virus, focusing on Chinese governmental bodies and scientific institutions, including the Wuhan laboratory. They allegedly unearthed documents that the German media has characterized as “fascinating and explosive.”
The intelligence agency's findings purportedly contained data about coronavirus experiments and several unpublished studies from 2019 and 2020, particularly regarding the impact of coronaviruses on the human brain.
“The material suggests that an unusually large amount of knowledge about the supposedly novel virus was available in Wuhan at an unusually early stage,” Die Zeit reported.
A team of BND analysts, led by a virologist, evaluated the documents. They cross-referenced the information with publicly available studies and materials from other countries, concluding “with 80 to 95% certainty” that Covid “likely originated in a Chinese laboratory.” The BND reportedly suspected that the outbreak was due to an accident linked to inadequate safety protocols at the Wuhan lab.
The results were presented to former Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, which was skeptical and opted not to disseminate the information, even to the World Health Organization and the German parliament. This decision was reportedly influenced by fears of straining relations with Beijing and Washington.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s successor administration also reportedly found the BND’s conclusions unconvincing initially and opted to keep them confidential. It wasn't until late 2024 that the BND was permitted to share its findings with the CIA and a select group of scientists.
In January 2025, the CIA expressed that it believed “with low confidence” that Covid-19 likely had its origins in a lab setting. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has consistently rejected the lab-leak theory, while another prominent theory posits that Covid-19 emerged from a natural source, specifically through zoonotic transmission from animals to humans.
In response to inquiries from SZ and Die Zeit, Berlin announced that it would share the BND findings with the German parliament and the WHO and intends to make some materials related to the scientific assessment public in the future.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
