Former Ince & Co partner Andrew Iyer has been jailed for four years and eight months following allegations of fraud involving millions of pounds of client money.

Iyer, who was sentenced today (7 February) at the Old Bailey, resigned from Ince in July 2010 following a period of suspension for "irregular financial behaviour".

His actions were subsequently investigated by the Metropolitan Police's fraud squad, with the alleged fraud involving around £3m of client money.

Iyer was global energy and offshore head at Ince at the time of his suspension. He had also carved out a career as a novelist and had written two legal thrillers, The Betrayed and Domino Run.

In February 2012, Iyer was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) due to the criminal investigation.

Iyer, who was ordered to pay £11,671.32 in costs, was referred to the SDT in May 2011 after an initial investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for misconduct.

Last year, Ince confirmed that £2.5m had "almost entirely been paid back to the clients affected", with a small proportion – "less than 5%" – delayed due to difficulties in tracing the correct recipients.