The former boss of the Serious Fraud Office racked up nearly £25,000 in a single year by flying business class and staying in five-star hotels.
At the same time his cash-strapped agency struggled with cuts.
MPs have attacked Richard Alderman for spending 52 days out of the country during his last full year as director of the fraud-fighting agency.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee launched an investigation after it learned that Mr Alderman had given three members of staff severance deals worth more than £1million paid by the Serious Fraud Office.
The watchdog accused him of 'slovenly, sloppy' leadership as he stayed in five-star hotels at a time when his agency faced accusations about cronyism and struggled to deal with sharp budget cuts.
Records obtained by The Times show that the director visited Shanghai, Marrakech, Manila, and went to Washington three times in six months.
On one trip he flew business class to Moscow, stayed in a five-star hotel near the Kremlin, and caught a train to St Petersburg, as part of a trip to attend anti-corruption seminars.
His four-day trip cost the SFO £3,389, according to the newspaper.
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Usually he went on the invitation of non-government agencies and law firms to to discuss the UK's anti-bribery laws, The Times reported.
The Committee began the probe after the National Audit Office (NAO) previously refused to approve the SFO's accounts.
Records show that the director visited Shanghai, Marrakech, Manila, and went to Washington three times in six months
An 'irregular' pension and severance payment of £422,000 was made to Philippa Williamson, the SFO's former chief executive officer, last year, and two other SFO employees also understood to have received large payments.
The Cabinet Office had not approved the payments made by the SFO - the independent body that investigates corruption.
Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, has also asked that the NAO carries out a broader investigation into the payments, according to The Times.
In Ferbuary Hodge has condemned the payments - deemed 'irregular' by the NAO, as 'this sweetheart deal outside of official Treasury procedures'.
The NAO said that this expenditure was 'not in conformity with the authorities which govern it and is, therefore, irregular'.
Hodge said: 'The SFO showed a total disregard for taxpayers' money when it wrote out a five-figure cheque and failed to provide valid justification for the payment.'
In March Shadow Attorney-General Emily Thornberry said that current SFO chief David Green had asked for an independent investigation but that its findings were not released.
Mr Green sought legal advice when entering office about the deals that concluded the payments were binding and that the money could not be recovered.
At the time the SFO said the payments had been approved before Mr Green took the position and he had no prior knowledge of them.
Mr Alderman, a former barrister, was director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) between April 2008 and April 2012.
The SFO is responsible in the UK for the most complex investigations and prosecutions relating to fraud and overseas corruption.
An SFO spokesman said: 'The foreign travel arrangements for Mr Alderman throughout his tenure as director of the SFO were decisions made by him to meet what he judged to be appropriate in the execution of his public duty.
'He answered questions on this topic when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee on March 7 this year.'