Daniel Travers is a Partner in our Corporate Crime and Global Investigations group. He advises multinational companies, financial institutions, boards and executives on high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters.
Clients turn to Daniel to defend them in corporate criminal investigations and regulatory enforcement actions — including proceedings brought by prosecutors, customs and tax authorities, BaFin, and other regulators and authorities. He leads major cross-border internal investigations and provides board-level counsel on compliance and corporate governance. He also represents companies harmed by corporate crime and personal misconduct and advised clients in all areas of crisis response and management.
Before joining Freshfields, he practised as a defence counsel at a top-tier white-collar crime boutique. He publishes in renowned commentaries on criminal law and on criminal procedure and has served as a visiting lecturer in white-collar crime law at the University of Potsdam since 2019.
Daniel is consistently ranked among the leading professionals across his areas of expertise.
Languages: German, English
- Acted as defence counsel for major global clients in criminal investigations arising from some of the most significant corporate crises of recent years — including the Diesel emissions issue, the Wirecard collapse, the Panama Papers revelations, the Danske Bank and Russian Laundromat investigations, and other cross-border enforcement actions and investigations.
- Led internal investigations into serious criminal and regulatory allegations — including fraud, corruption, insider trading, sanctions breaches, money laundering, embezzlement, and employment law violations — as well as behavioural misconduct, major industrial incidents, data leaks, and other high-stakes corporate crises.
- Defended numerous financial institutions in regulatory investigations led by BaFin and other regulators concerning alleged breaches of anti-money laundering (GwG, AMLD), market abuse (WpHG, MAR), MiFID, and banking regulatory (KWG, CRR, CRD) requirements — including failures to meet notification, disclosure and publicity obligations, as well as allegations of insider trading and market manipulation.
- Specific examples include:
- Defended a European industrial company in a German criminal investigation into foreign bribery and tax evasion related to its operations in Russia and alleged contracting with shell companies; the matter involved conducting an internal investigation and was successfully resolved without charges.
- Advised the management board of a major chemical company following a serious industrial incident resulting in multiple fatalities, supporting the client in navigating complex criminal and regulatory challenges and supporting the strategic handling of the matter.
- Advised the supervisory board of a major investment company in connection with suspected fraud by the CEO during a high-value takeover, including leading a comprehensive internal investigation into the lawfulness of management’s conduct throughout the transaction.
- Advised a leading US investment bank acting as a cooperating witness in a criminal insider trading investigation, leading complex cross-border fact-finding and coordinating closely with prosecutors and regulators across multiple jurisdictions.
- Defended a board member of a leading bank in an investigation into alleged money laundering and compliance failures following the Panama Papers revelations; the matter was successfully resolved without charges.
- Conducted an internal investigation into bribery and fraud allegations involving a major European mobility platform, advising on potential criminal exposure and compliance remediation.
- Conducted an internal investigation into fraud suspicions across Continental Europe on behalf of a financial sponsor, involving a portfolio company in the industrial services sector, and advised on compliance remediation and self-cleaning measures.
- Defended a bank in a criminal investigation into breach of trust allegations in connection with the Wirecard collapse; the matter was successfully resolved without criminal charges.
- Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a major defence company into allegations of management misconduct, including suspected obstruction of works council activities and other criminal and behavioural allegations.
Feldmühleplatz 1
Potsdamer Platz 1