The UK's Financial Conduct Authority brought forward the case against Rifat, a former senior execution trader and portfolio strategist at Moore Europe Capital. He is the third person coming out of the FCA's largest insider dealing investigation, Operation Tabernula, to be sentenced for insider dealing.

The watchdog also fined Rifat £100,000 and ordered him to pay costs of £159,402 for the offences.

While working at the firm, Rifat passed inside information to associate Graeme Shelley, who pleaded guilty to trading with Rifat and another associate, Paul Milsom, in March last year. Milsom, an execution trader at Legal and General Insurance Management, pleaded guilty to insider dealing back in 2013.

“Mr Rifat was a very experienced market professional. He was privy to highly sensitive information at the heart of some of the largest transactions in the UK financial markets during the latter half of 2009. Mr Rifat’s behaviour exploited financial markets during a particularly challenging time just as they were taking steps to recover from the 2008 crisis,” the FCA's acting director of enforcement and market oversight, Georgina Philippou, said in a statement.

“The smooth running of our financial markets requires market professionals to play by the rules – Mr Rifat knew the rules, but he abused them for his own benefit.”