The Commonwealth Joint Task Force on Drug Trafficking released its report to the Australian and NSW Governments in March 1983. It found that Frank Nugan had been 'involved in massive international and local fraud' and had deliberately falsified the bank's accounts to conceal debt. But with drug matters as its prime concern, the Task Force had to leave it to the Stewart Royal Commission to investigate Nugan Hand's possible arms dealing and alleged CIA involvement. This it substantially failed to do.
Re-visiting the earlier 1983 Task Force findings, a useful start can be made from extensive quoting in John Owen’s “Sleight of Hand”:
. Nugan Hand introduction to its operations p16
. The Thai offices – Chiang Mai p72, 73, 81, 82
. The Supply of Weapons to Africa, p100
. Nugan hand and drug activity, p101
. Drug Traffickers who dealt with NHB in 1974-1980, p102 -105
. George Shaw [Sydney Lebanese] drug clients, p 116/117
. Worldwide sequence of events following Nugan’s death, p182-184
. Michael Hand “disappearance”, p 184-185
. Michael Hand & US intelligence services, p 186
. Personal backgrounds Hand p14, Nugan p13, Houghton p143.
Jonathon Kwitny remains the main investigative journalist on the matter, with "The Crimes of Patriots" published in 1987. But another one to check is Rod Stich. In "Those Ugly Americans" (defraudingamerica link) he cites Task Force findings that a CIA operative was made president of Nugan Hand Bank in its last few months, referring to the only real banker NHB appointed - Donald Beazley, who went on to be president of City Bank in Miami.
Stich claims Beazley played an important part in the purchase of London Capital Securities Ltd, alias Stonehouse Bank. He says Beazley purchased the London Bank for $300,000 in traveler’s checks bought by Bernie Houghton, who Stich calls a veteran CIA agent.
Concerning NHB's "massive international and local fraud" reported by the Task Force, Stich points to two bank insiders: Philippines-based Lt. Gen. Leroy Manor, former Chief of the Pacific Command in the Philippines, and Edwin Black, a former high-ranking intelligence officer and assistant Army Chief of Staff who was Nugan Hand Bank president before Beazley.
On Stich's claims about Black, there's no doubt about him being an officer in the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) forerunner of the CIA. And chief aide to Allen Dulles, the CIA Director, under Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. He also worked closely with Richard Helms, who became CIA Director.
But other Stich claims are harder to verify, including that Black maintained ties with Bishop Baldwin Rewald Dillingham, the Hawaii-based bank that took over CIA work after Nugan Hand fell. Also that Walter McDonald, former Deputy Director of the CIA, was a business consultant to Nugan Hand.
Perhaps Stich's most incendiary claim is this: That Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, former Deputy Director of CIA, stated on at least two occasions that any additional investigation by Australia would result in exposure of “a range of dirty tricks against foreign governments".