Editing Michael Jon Hand (section)

==CIA Connections==
	◦	Hand’s CIA service in Laos, working with [[Air America]] and Shackley, directly linked Nugan Hand to U.S. intelligence. His alleged mission to undermine Whitlam aligned with CIA concerns about Australia’s policies.

	◦	Edwin P. Wilson’s 1974 arms deal through Nugan Hand, facilitated by Hand, tied the bank to CIA logistics. Wilson’s later claim that his Libyan operations (e.g., shipping 20 tons of C-4 explosives) were CIA-sanctioned suggests Hand’s bank served similar covert purposes.

	◦	The presence of CIA figures like Colby and McDonald, combined with the bank’s obstruction of Australian investigations, indicates it was a CIA front, though direct agency control remains unproven.