David Benford is an Associate Director in the investigations and forensic services team at Control Risks, based in Frankfurt. David has experience working on forensic engagements in Germany, Europe and Africa, assisting with compliance reviews and investigations into cases of fraud, bribery and corruption across multiple industries. In this capacity, he has worked alongside law firms, private equity investors, governments, regulators and enforcement agencies whilst based in Munich, London, Brussels and Nairobi.
Recent tasks that David has worked on include:
Leading multiple investigations into allegations of procurement fraud which arose during the implementation of infrastructure projects funded by a European development bank.
Leading multiple investigations into allegations of fraud, corruption and other financial irregularities at member associations of an international sports federation.
Leading investigations into the theft and resale of high-value materials and assets at manufacturing sites in Germany, Belgium and Cameroon.
Conducted interviews, investigated accounting records, reported on patterns of fraudulent transactions, and developed a set of bespoke data analysis tools within a fraud investigation on site at an East African financial institution by order of the Governor of the National Central Bank to support the central bank and its lawyers with numerous civil and criminal proceedings.
Assisting with the investigation of a bribery and corruption case brought by the Serious Fraud Office against a client operating in Africa. Performed a series of analyses on the client’s books to ascertain the exact costs and profits associated with the transactions under investigation in preparation for a criminal trial.
Reviewed and analysed large volumes of accounting information and supporting evidence to identify potential areas of overspend as part of a cost review of an offshore oil and gas project in West Africa for a major corporation in the industry.
David holds first class degrees from the University of St Andrews (MA) and the University of Oxford (MSc) and is a fully qualified chartered accountant (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales). David has a native/ bilingual proficiency in English and German and is fluent in French.
