An ex-BlackRock senior fund manager was this afternoon sent to prison for 18 months.

Mark Lyttleton, 45, pleaded guilty to two counts of insider dealing in November.

Today he was sentenced to 18 months, reduced with credit to 12 months.

The prosecution was brought by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The FCA reported that Mark Lyttleton, 45, admitted dealing on the basis of insider information he obtained during the course of his employment at BlackRock as an equity portfolio manager.

In sentencing Mr Lyttleton the trial judge HHJ Goymer, said: “Insider dealing is not a victimless crime, I regard these offences as pre-meditated and blatantly dishonest.”

In 2012 the FCA commenced an investigation into suspicious trading, with Lyttleton suspected of placing trades in stocks on the basis of inside information gleaned by him.

Lyttleton was arrested and interviewed at home on 30 April 2013 after a search warrant was executed. Addresses were also simultaneously searched in Switzerland.

Mark Steward, FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Lyttleton’s insider dealing involved a gross abuse of the trust placed in him as a senior fund manager. He tried to hide his misconduct through the use of unregistered mobile phones and setting up a company in his wife’s maiden name in an overseas jurisdiction. None of this meant he could avoid detection.

“Those who are tempted to insider deal, especially financial industry professionals, must know now they are more likely to be caught than ever before and, when caught, they will likely face a custodial sentence.”

The regulator previously stated: “In his role in the Fundamental Equity Team at Blackrock Mr Lyttleton was able to discover and act on inside information either by working on the deals concerning the stocks or being party to conversations conducted by colleagues.

“The two stocks concerned are EnCore Oil Plc (between 1 October 2011 and 13 October 2011) and Cairn Energy Plc (between 4 November 2011 and 17 December 2011).

“Mr Lyttleton was able to use the inside information to inform his purchase of shares a short time before any public announcement was made about the stocks concerned. The trading was conducted by Mr Lyttleton through an overseas asset manager trading on behalf of a Panamanian registered company.”