Ian Thompson is a Senior Managing Director in the FTI Consulting Forensic and Litigation Consulting practice and is based in London. Ian is a member of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) leadership team, with responsibility for quality and risk management. For more than 25 years, Ian has undertaken expert witness work in litigation and arbitration, financial investigations, compliance, insolvency, auditing, due diligence and corporate finance.
Ian has worked full-time on forensic engagements for more than 20 years and is generally instructed in relation to accounting issues, allegations of financial irregularity and financial distress. He has extensive experience in offshore matters, having led FTI Consulting’s British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) office for three years.
Ian has given evidence on many occasions in various forums, namely the High Court in London, the Commercial Court in the BVI and the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) in Paris. He has testified for as long as two days, in cases with claim values as high as $2 billion and has been cross-examined by top-ranked King’s Counsel (“KCs”). Ian has been recognised by Who’s Who Legal for forensic accounting and asset recovery.
Relevant Experience:
- Ian was instructed as accounting expert in a high-profile fraud claim brought by an Eastern European bank, where he and his team analysed four years of transactional data for more than 100 of the bank’s corporate customers.
- Ian was instructed as accounting expert in a high-profile case involving allegations that certain construction projects were fraudulent. He gave oral evidence and was described by the judge as both providing “invaluable assistance” and as an expert “in which the Court can have confidence.” The judge also wrote “Mr Thompson, in particular, provided a detailed analysis of the relevant money flows in certain appendices which…were relied upon extensively by both sides at trial.”
- Ian was instructed as accounting expert on a case which required complex tracing amid allegations of misappropriation following the dissolution of a joint venture. He gave oral evidence and was described by the judge as having given “extraordinarily careful attention to the matter.” Both the judge and opposing counsel accepted a key part of his evidence.
- Ian assisted the BVI and Bermudian governments with a complex, multijurisdictional investigation in relation to allegations of money laundering and corruption. He investigated the activities of numerous Bermudian entities, including the source and application of their funds. This led to their liquidation and the confiscation of more than $45 million.
- Ian undertook an investigation in relation to a high-profile divorce, acting for the wife in the tracing of assets said to be worth in the region of £400 million to £1 billion. The judge referred to FTI Consulting “setting out pitilessly in a preliminary exposé the scale of [the Husband]'s non-compliance in his replies.”
- Ian was seconded to the former Department of Trade and Industry in the UK, where he undertook numerous company investigations. 12 companies were wound up in the public interest and two directors disqualified. In relation to one such case, Ian was described by the judge as “in all respects a careful, reliable and truthful witness.”
- Ian was also a key part of the London team acting on behalf of the U.S. trustee for the liquidation of a financial services company following the collapse of an alleged $65 billion Ponzi scheme.
Associations
Associate of the Academy of Experts Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
Formation
M.A., Classics, Oxford University
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Contact
T: +44 20 3727 1495
ian.thompson@fticonsulting.com -
Bureau
200 Aldersgate
Aldersgate Street
London EC1A 4HD
United Kingdom
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Expertise
Financial Investigations
Forensic Accounting & Investigations
Forensic Litigation Consulting