# David Mapley

David Mapley is an investment banker and financial investigator focussed on investigating financial misconduct and regulatory compliance. He is the founder and head of financial investigations at Intel Suisse, a partnership that investigates financial schemes and seeks to recover associated assets. Mapley has played a role in high-profile financial investigations, including regulatory probes and legal disputes related to Goldman Sachs’ Timberwolf CDO and asset recovery efforts.

## Career background

David Mapley has a background in managing investment portfolios, advising on debt and currency reserves, and launching funds in emerging markets. He worked globally across key financial centers, gaining extensive experience in derivatives and capital markets. His career spans roles in both investment management and consulting, with a focus on complex financial instruments.

## Basis Yield Alpha Fund investigation

Mapley was involved with the Basis Yield Alpha Fund, an Australian hedge fund that collapsed in 2007 after investing in subprime mortgage-related products marketed by Goldman Sachs, specifically the Timberwolf CDO. As an outside director of the fund, Mapley provided evidence to regulators as part of investigations into financial misconduct and cooperated with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to expose misrepresentations in the sale of these toxic assets. He urged the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to investigate, citing the severe financial impact on Australian investors.

## Legal actions related to Goldman Sachs

An internal email from a Goldman Sachs executive referred to the Timberwolf CDO as 'one shitty deal.' Mapley was involved in initiating legal actions and supporting lawsuits against Goldman Sachs, alleging that Goldman Sachs engaged in misleading financial practices related to subprime mortgage securities. He actively collaborated with regulators and pursued legal avenues to seek compensation for the investors affected by the collapse of Basis Yield Alpha Fund.

## Other financial investigations

Beyond the Goldman Sachs case, David Mapley has been involved in various international financial investigations. Through Intel Suisse, he led efforts to uncover and recover assets lost in fraudulent schemes and was active in legal disputes related to entities like the Columna Commodities sub-fund, where he filed complaints against UK liquidators and pursued cases in Luxembourg courts.
Mapley has been involved in litigation efforts with financial institutions including Morgan Stanley International, Citibank, and Deutsche Bank, in collaboration with liquidators Grant Thornton.
Mapley's work includes tracking financial schemes, analyzing regulatory responses, and examining oversight practices in the financial industry. His expertise has been sought in cases involving missing assets, mismanaged funds, and fraudulent financial structures, making him a notable figure in the financial regulatory community.

## US Senate Expert Witness – Subprime Mortgage Collapse

Following the collapse of the Basis Yield Alpha Fund, an Australian hedge fund that suffered substantial losses from the Timberwolf 2007-1 CDO sold by Goldman Sachs, Mapley became involved in United States regulatory investigations into the subprime mortgage crisis. He was contacted by the United States Attorney’s Office and provided evidence to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Goldman Sachs’ alleged misrepresentation of mortgage-backed securities.
Mapley later joined the investigative team under Senator Carl Levin’s Chief Legal Counsel, serving as a technical market advisor to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
His role involved providing technical expertise on structured finance, assessing the mispricing of mortgage-backed securities, and advising the Subcommittee on the financial market failures that led to the 2008 crisis.
As an independent director of Basis Yield Alpha Fund, Mapley had previously raised concerns about the mis-pricing and mis-selling of Timberwolf securities, which he described as a "fraudulent concoction". His findings contributed to the Senate’s 650-page investigative report, released in 2011, which detailed systemic failures in risk assessment, conflicts of interest, and regulatory oversight that led to the rapid collapse of AAA-rated mortgage-backed securities.
The U.S. Senate report, led by Senator Carl Levin, highlighted Goldman Sachs’ internal practices, including an executive referring to Timberwolf as “one shitty deal”, despite the firm continuing to market it to investors.
In addition to his work with the U.S. Senate investigation, Mapley was involved in legal actions against major financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank, in efforts to recover lost investor assets.

## Advocacy and legal disputes

Mapley has supported regulatory actions in cases where financial misconduct affected investors. For instance, he criticized the regulatory shortcomings in asset recovery efforts related to collapsed investment funds, including those linked to high-profile luxury asset schemes and investment frauds.