Derek Santos was designated Acting Associate Deputy Inspector General effective December 1, 2025. In this role, he exercises overall supervision of OIG’s business units, including the Offices of Investigations; Audits, Inspections and Evaluations; and Management, among other OIG functional activities.
Mr. Santos joined OIG as General Counsel in October 2024. In that capacity Mr. Santos directed the delivery of legal services for all OIG business units in their oversight of foreign assistance and development efforts worldwide.
Prior to his role as OIG General Counsel, Mr. Santos served as Deputy General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force, leading the delivery of legal services in anti-corruption and acquisition integrity. He was the Suspension and Debarment Official for the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Space Force, evaluating the business integrity of contractors and research grantees, and served as the Defense Department liaison to the defense industry on ethics and compliance. Altogether, Mr. Santos was assigned to the Pentagon for 15 years. Before his work in the Pentagon, he was a deployed civilian legal counsel in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Department of the Army, assisting overseas with the infrastructure development and security missions of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and served as chief counsel of the U.S. Army Transatlantic Programs Center.
Mr. Santos has been appointed to the Senior Executive Service since 2018. He received his JD from the University of Pennsylvania and his BA from Williams College.