AUSTRALIAN BANKER SPARKS SAGA OF MISSING DEPOSITS, OFFICIALS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000200820043-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 3, 2010
• Sequence Number: 43
• Publication Date: November 2, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

S' Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/03: CIA-RDP90-00806R000200820043-2
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
2 November 1980
Advertiser Staff ?WriterQ' "isa 4
Tlie-death?of afl A'ustralfian banker;
eartjf "ihis~ year outside Sydney has'
generated`=any intern itional?,itaiei of.
financiaK'intrigde that'-spreads; even.
to~Ho-nolulu..
' Tht-banker was:.' k'$ar-li-~`J`- .-.' ,Nui4I nz
35~ whorapparentlg..killed.',himself:
Jan>-2 ?in;,a ,car parked-on;;ar;onely
road..Shortly thereafter, tine Sydney.'
based;-Nugan .Hand.'.Bank went.
brokea7~; --xz. ri?1~is?L~-
F.ormer..U:S. Brig Gen Ed.win
Black; -husband ' of . Cobby, Black,;. one
of The`Advertiser'sticontributing
representative of ; the.Nugan ..Hand.
"The-Australian newspapers have
been trying to blow this:-thing- up, to
bring im, the Mafia, the- CIA-;- interns-.
tionaL.drug-deals? 'alli~that,sort ?.of
thing, .and it's just not?there,:' Black
Since, Nugan died",,.-a number.of'
peculiar' things; hawk' . happenedrto
bank--officials 'andbank deposits.
:Mostly they have vanished?without a
trace ,:_,htiz!
Nugan's -partner,'-Mich-ael `Jon
Hand.: disappeared ;frorn- Australia
after stating at a' coroner's inquest
into, Nugan's ? death' that Nugan had.
.misappropriated at 'east:'S3mlion
in-the-?bank's~-assets=and -had = m ade1
loans of a=like amount,
to persons or
%with all office records
;, .? '?
.Gone, too, is $800,000 in cash from
y., s=
ney:companies. Y .;-i~s,,,.~y ~ ?t
ing from :the';bank's Hong;?Kong. of=
office is reported missing. Black told-
The-Advertiser that the- Saudi ,Ara..;
bian bank representative also! has
Blaclt,=said the.Nugan:Hand Bank.
was' nr.pr'svate.merchant bank,
heedquar eyed in ?. Sydney" i V
representative offices throughout, the-,
?Retired'-'U'.S.Adm.? EarrFYates?;
on''e' assigned to CINCPAC--in' Hono--
lulii ran, the bank's office in Virginia
;Beach :V3:,Black-said -- F
got to know Yates when hewas
with GINCPAC :' Black'said
{;1~1L- vis through -him thwas
Drought ;into the: organization `He"
clne,through`here in,la*_e-19?7 or?
early.. 1979,: introduced me-to- Niigan
' an& Hand,: iave me a bitch to join i
thim and`Idid,4- ~,;: ;??s.
attl3iat banking; Black said.
?"jb trole.'was to assist: the bank's'
rdients. people'..who had.'deposited ?
money'with?the:,bank,-.sa .promoting.
;business ;activities they,.might'bel
.interested in in:Southeast Asia, Thai?
land; Hong Kong." he said
Black-was the'commander'of U.S.
Army forces in Thailand. in -the.- late
19606
' The bank sold'commercial'?paper
elcplained? ,~ - ~ ~?.. r+>_.I
A 0.
est rates-on, commercial paper were
higher than in the : U S or, the' inter
national markets
t.' was.:a',perfectly? legitimate
business..At.one point; an American
bank I. think it was in=Philadel
phia'*;bought a half=million dollars
in'"tertificates; collected their,- inter--
feat'; and were:~very happy about, it-
: nsaid'Btack- ~>r . ' c~
? ;:I was oa retainer and was avail-,
k~l traveled'for.themRwent_to Syd
of: thing:. It-was a`good?deal," Black.
H said' ` ,,: q,ts .`.Z'' ?, .,r.at ii, .. #~: -,". ;:
?As for. allegations that' the -bank
was:,connected, to;the: CIA-, Black
said:"There's nothing. to it
; Black's name was' included 'on' a
li
t
f
e
'
bli
h
d
nam
s
o
s
pu
s
e
recently l?y
the London Sunday Times. of persons
.
connected'to Nugan Hand;: some -:of:
t,r,thenr. vith'CIA'backgrounds -" y'
Nf "They try to bring me7 into it be- ;
_E cause:I;used to be-in,the OSS.(Office
a of;Strategic Services) ' ,he-'said.;_ a
'.'That was right?after. I'got out:of'
*est,.Point, during World War
II. bed:
hind the lines in France. and eTma-,
he said. , ... ,:
=OSS was the predecessorto'thel
CIA; so they try' to-make' a big dea
out of that," he said..' --- I `.:%
-The-London Sunday Times report-
,''.ed that-the-directors and sharehold-
ers of Australian-and Pacific Hold-
'iings acompany.'setup'byHand,
:were,mostly employees.of--Air Amer-
ica,. the CIA controlled airline in..
Southeast Asia
The Sunday- Times. also: reported
that john Arthur; Paisley.. a former
CIA officer" wbo-.committed suicide
under strange circumstances in 1973
during-a ?fishing? trip=on Chesapeke
Bay;was a~Nugan:Hand?man. : ~.
The most interesting 'CIA connec- i
Lion was.the employment of former
'CIA Director William. Colby by
Nugan Hand 'after' he left the agen-
cy
"Colby got involved 'in the .last
days of the banks existence; they.
signed him 'on as .:a :consultant.,
Black told The Advertiser.. ?
Colby's business card was found
on the.body:of the man identified as,
Nugan in Australia.' ;;
Also-found on.the.body-was a co
py
of the-New Testaments with- Frank
Nugan's handwriting _ on the . title
-="F=p}ace=-this day,=-my -life;%m
work,, my- loved ones in- the Lord's
hands..-He`is-so.good it will be a good
day
k believe,T-believe. this will be a
glorious magical?miraculous'day..He-
is with me -now.: Jesus walks: He is
with. me now;. Visualise 100,000 cus-
tomers worldwide.*Prayerise. actua-l
lise. God is- our partner in GNH and
Co."
.t_ GNH'and Co. -.is believed (by the,
Australian press) to be God,: Nuganl
Hand. and Co -
Michael'Hand. before he disap-
peared. reportedly said that a photo-,
graph of the dead Nugan was actual-t
ly not 'Nugan: -And the- Australian?
press has questioned the circum-'
stanc es of Nugan?s suicide. speculat
.. -R..: a t.Hw??A.'t~i,.?y,:.a .. ai?
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/03: CIA-RDP90-00806R000200820043-2