A former US Marine who renounced his US citizenship faces extradition from Australia to face federal charges that he illegally trained Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers.
Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, who was arrested in Australia in October and remains in custody, is charged with money laundering and violating US arms control laws, according to a 2017 federal indictment unsealed last month.
Last week, Australian prosecutors said they had granted a request by US authorities to extradite Duggan to stand trial in the District of Columbia.
However, Duggan’s lawyer has previously indicated he plans to fight extradition and the matter will be heard before an Australian judge next week.
Duggan, who rose to the rank of major, flew Harrier jets with the US Marines before leaving the armed forces and moving to Australia, where he set up a company offering ‘adventure flying’.
Daniel Duggan, 54, who was arrested in Australia in October and remains in custody, faces charges of money laundering and violating US arms control laws
According to the indictment, “Duggan provided military training to PRC (People’s Republic of China) pilots through a South African flight school three times in 2010 and 2012 while he was a US citizen.
The indictment alleges that Duggan, in conjunction with British and South African conspirators, under false pretenses, helped procure a T-2 Buckeye aircraft used to train Navy and Navy pilots.
Violations he is accused of also include providing flight services in China, evaluating Chinese military pilot trainees and instructing them in landing on aircraft carriers.
He faces four US charges, including conspiracy to export defense services to China, conspiracy to launder money and violating the Arms Export Control Act.
Duggan’s LinkedIn profile lists him as Managing Director of AVIBIZ Limited, “a comprehensive aviation consulting firm focused on China’s fast-growing and dynamic aviation industry.”
Duggan’s attorney, Dennis Miralis, could not be reached for comment outside of Sydney business hours.
The indictment alleges that Duggan, in conjunction with British and South African conspirators, helped obtain a T-2 Buckeye aircraft (like the one above) under false pretenses
China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, named after Fujian province, is seen at a launching ceremony at the Jiangnan shipyard in June 2017
Miralis said Duggan was an Australian citizen who renounced his US citizenship and denied breaking any laws.
Australia received an extradition request from the United States for Duggan on Dec. 9, the attorney general’s office said, and has until Dec. 25 to make a decision on whether to formally approve the extradition request.
“The Attorney General has complied with this request and Mr Duggan’s attorney has been informed of this decision,” the department said in a statement to Portal.
This indicates that the Attorney General’s view is that Duggan is a person extraditable to the United States under Australia’s Extradition Act 1988.
The extradition matter will next appear before a New South Wales state judge on Jan. 10, the attorney general’s office said.
Duggan moved to Australia after a decade in the US military and founded a company called Top Gun Tasmania, which hired former US and British military pilots to offer tourists jaunts in fighter jets, company records and aviation sources confirm.
Duggan also flew ex-military planes at Australian air shows, three pilots told Portal.
Duggan’s attorney Dennis Miralis (pictured) said Duggan was an Australian citizen who renounced his US citizenship and denied breaking any law
According to Top Gun Tasmania’s website, Duggan flew Harrier jump jets with the US Marines and was an air combat instructor.
His service included flight missions for Operation Southern Watch in the Persian Gulf of Kuwait and the USS Boxer after the Gulf War.
These missions included flights from British airline HMS Invincible.
He moved to Beijing in 2014 and soon after was selling Top Gun Tasmania, submissions in Australia for the company exhibition.
According to Duggan’s LinkedIn profile, since 2017 he has been based in Qingdao, China as the Managing Director of AVIBIZ Limited, which is described as “a comprehensive aviation consulting company focused on the fast-growing and dynamic Chinese aviation industry”.
Company records in Hong Kong show that AVIBIZ Limited was registered there in 2017 by Australian passport holder Daniel Edmund Duggan and was wound up in 2020.