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Mark Lyttleton, a former Equity Portfolio Manager at BlackRock, has yesterday pleaded guilty to two counts of insider dealing. He will be sentenced on 21 December 2016.

Mr Lyttleton admitted dealing on the basis of insider information he obtained during the course of his employment at BlackRock. 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.

Notes to editors

1. The case was heard at Southwark Crown Court
2. Mr Lyttletons’ date of birth: 9 June 1971
3. The FCA, and previously the Financial Services Authority, have secured 30 convictions in relation to insider dealing.
4. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 gives the FCA powers to investigate and prosecute insider dealing, defined by The Criminal Justice Act 1993.
5. Individuals with information about market abuse can call the FCA’s market abuse hotline on 020 7066 4900.
6. On 1 April 2013, the FCA became responsible for the conduct supervision of all regulated financial firms and the prudential supervision of those not supervised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
7. The FCA has an overarching strategic objective of ensuring the relevant markets function well. To support this it has three operational objectives: to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers; to protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system; and to promote effective competition in the interests of consumers.
8. Find out more information about the FCA.