Daniel Duggan: investigation launched into imprisonment of Australian accused of training Chinese pilots

The IGIS has royal commission-like powers, including coercive powers such as compelling witnesses for examination, and compelling the production of records, Miralis said.

Such lures are legal in the US, but not under Australian law.

Duggan, 54, a former US marine pilot who is now a naturalised Australian, was arrested last October at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering, arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. The allegations have not been tested in court.

Duggan, who has no criminal history anywhere in the world, has faced significant isolation in prison, having been classified as a high-risk prisoner. He denies the charges and is fighting his extradition from prison, a process that could take months, even years, to resolve.

He is currently held in isolation in the maximum security Lithgow prison. His 95-year-old mother, Anne, died this week in Boston. He will be unable to attend her funeral.

US-born Duggan served more than a decade flying in the US Marine Corps, rising to the rank of major and working as a military tactical flight instructor.

He left the marines in 2002 and moved to Australia, becoming an Australian citizen in 2012 and renouncing his US citizenship in 2017. He has lived in Australia and China since leaving the marines.

A 2017 US grand jury indictment alleges Duggan trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, in defiance of arms trafficking laws, and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money.