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Home News Mark Lyttleton sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for insider dealing
Mark Lyttleton sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for insider dealing
Press Releases First published: 21/12/2016 Last updated: 21/12/2016
In a prosecution brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Mark Lyttleton, a former Equity Portfolio Manager at BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, has today been sentenced to 18 months reduced with credit to 12 months on two counts of insider dealing. A confiscation order was also made in the sum of £149,861.27 and costs awarded to the FCA of £83,225.62.
In sentencing Mr Lyttleton the trial judge HHJ Goymer remarked: “Insider dealing is not a victimless crime, I regard these offences as pre-meditated and blatantly dishonest.”
Mark Steward, 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.”
Overview of the facts
In 2012 the FCA commenced an investigation into suspicious trading by Mark Lyttleton. Lyttleton was suspected of placing trades in stocks on the basis of inside information gleaned by him in the course of his employment at BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited. Lyttleton worked as a Fundamental Equity Portfolio Manager in the EMEA Fundamental Equity Team at BlackRock throughout the relevant period.
In November 2010 Lyttleton purchased a Panamanian registered company called Huduno Invest S.A. He placed the beneficial ownership of this company in the name of his wife, using her maiden name. Personnel from Caldwell and Partners, a Swiss based Asset Management and Financial Advisory Company were placed as Huduno’s president, secretary and treasurer.
In November 2010 Huduno entered into an asset management agreement with Caldwell & Partners, this provided the asset manager with discretion to place trades on Huduno’s behalf, but also to execute instructions from Huduno.
In February 2011 Huduno opened a trading account with Banque Heritage in Switzerland, with Caldwell & Partners having power of attorney to place trades and execute other instructions.
Having obtained inside information, Lyttleton then instructed Caldwell and Partners, a Swiss Asset Manager and Financial Advisory Company, to trade in the stocks on behalf of Huduno Invest S.A. The trading was ordered through the trading account held in the name of Huduno at Banque Heritage, using two UK