Editing Michael Jon Hand (section)

==Later Life and Whereabouts==
After fleeing Australia, Hand vanished, becoming one of the most elusive figures in intelligence history. Speculation about his fate includes:
	•	U.S. Relocation: Australian investigators suspected Hand returned to the U.S., possibly with CIA protection, living under an assumed identity. A 1991 sighting in Bellevue, Washington, was reported but unconfirmed.
	•	Other Theories: Some sources suggest he operated in Central America or Africa, continuing covert activities. No definitive evidence has surfaced, and he remains a fugitive.

Hand’s connection to Edwin P. Wilson was through the 1974 arms deal, where Wilson used Nugan Hand Bank to finance the shipment of 10 million rounds of ammunition and 3,000 weapons to southern Africa. As co-founder, Hand facilitated the deal’s financial logistics, leveraging his CIA contacts. Wilson’s later Libyan operations, including shipping 20 tons of C-4 explosives, allegedly involved similar CIA-sanctioned networks, implicating Hand’s bank as a financial conduit. Their shared ties to Ted Shackley, who oversaw CIA operations in Laos, further link them within the same intelligence network.

Michael Jon Hand’s role in Nugan Hand Bank cemented his reputation as a shadowy figure in CIA covert operations. The bank’s collapse exposed a nexus of intelligence, organized crime, and finance, with Hand’s disappearance fueling conspiracy theories about CIA protection. His story, detailed in works like Jonathan Kwitny’s The Crimes of Patriots and Australian investigations, highlights the murky interplay of espionage and profit in the Cold War era.