Mats Benestad is a senior advisor at the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, focusing on Anti-Money Laundering. From 2010-2012, Benestad worked at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, both at the field office in Iran and at the headquarters in Vienna. In 2012, he joined the Legal Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was responsible for sanctions. Benestad has served as a First Secretary at the Norwegian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Vienna and as the Deputy Head of Mission at the Norwegian Embassy in Reykjavik.