The charges follow his arrest in London over three years ago.

Former BlackRock portfolio manager Mark Alexander Lyttleton has been charged with three counts of insider dealing.

The offences relate to trading in equities and a call option between 2 October 2011 and 16 December 2011, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement on Thursday. 

Lyttleton, 45, ran funds including the BlackRock UK Dynamic Fund and the BlackRock UK Absolute Alpha Fund. He left the firm in early 2013 and was arrested in May 2013 in West London along with his wife, who was dropped from the FCA’s investigation last year. 

Insider dealing is a criminal offence that is punishable by a fine of up to seven years' imprisonment, the FCA said. Lyttleton attended a court hearing in London this week.