---
born: 1941-12-08
category: Intelligence & Government
location: New York City, New York, USA
summary: After his first tour in Vietnam, Hand moved to the clandestine CIA war in
  Laos, according to Ted Shackley, a former station chief in Indo-China.
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- Military
---

[Michael Hand](/people/michael-hand/) was a highly decorated Special Forces Green Beret soldier in [Vietnam](/places/vietnam/). He later co-founded [Nugan Hand Bank](/organizations/nugan-hand-bank/) in [Australia](/places/australia/) with [Frank Nugan](/people/frank-nugan/) and officials of the [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/)-owned [Air America](/organizations/air-america/). Hand had special knowledge of intelligence operations in the [Golden Triangle](/places/golden-triangle/).[^1]

After his first tour in [Vietnam](/places/vietnam/), Hand moved to the clandestine [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) war in [Laos](/places/laos/), according to [Ted Shackley](/people/ted-shackley/), a former station chief in Indo-China.[^1]

[Nugan Hand Bank](/organizations/nugan-hand-bank/), a primary [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) operation in the Pacific area, reportedly laundered profits from drug trafficking in the [Golden Triangle](/places/golden-triangle/). These laundered profits, in turn, financed subversive paramilitary activities in Southeast Asia. The bank collapsed in 1980, $5 billion in debt, and Michael Hand disappeared.[^1]

According to the book *The Crimes of Patriots* by [Jonathan Kwitny](/people/jonathan-kwitny/), Michael Hand reportedly fled [Australia](/places/australia/) under a false identity on June 14, 1980, on a flight to [Fiji](/places/fiji/). He was allegedly helped to escape by an American code-named "Charlie," identified by Kwitny as a former member of the [U.S. Special Forces](/organizations/united-states-army-special-forces/) and ex-[CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) operative.[^1]

In 1991, Australian journalist [Brian Toohey](/people/brian-toohey/) reported in his *The Eye* magazine that Michael Hand had a postal drop at a suite in NE Bellevue, Washington State, and his wife was reportedly living with him there. [Michael Riconosciuto](/people/michael-riconosciuto/), who was living near Tacoma, Washington State, when he was arrested in 1991, claimed to have been in direct communication with Michael Hand before and after Hand's disappearance, and that he had handled money transfers for Hand when he fled [Australia](/places/australia/).[^1]

---

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.