A man from Chigwell has been jailed for stealing around £80,000 from his former employers for ‘lavish’ holidays, hotel rooms and even helicopter rides.

Henry Sathiya-Balan, 34, of Lechmere Avenue, was jailed on Thursday, September 5 for three years at Wood Green Crown Court after being found guilty of two counts of fraud.

He was also found guilty of possession of criminal property and a confiscation timetable has been set for the recovery of his assets.

He had been convicted at the same court on Thursday, August 1.

Sathiya-Balan had been employed at a firm of architects in Southwark and exploited his position as financial director of the business.

The offences took place over a three-year period from April 2014.

The court heard that he would use company credit cards in order to purchase hotel rooms and fund his own personal holidays.

Sathiya-Balan used a private and exclusive chauffeur agency through which a lot of high value payments were made, including the hotel rooms, but also to book taxis and even helicopters.

He had managed to keep siphoning money from the business for around three years before company officials had noticed irregularities, raising suspicion against Sathiya-Balan's conduct within the business.

A meeting was requested by the company's director with him and some accountants.

On the day of the meeting though, Sathiya-Balan called in sick and subsequently did not return to the job.

This led to the police being informed of the financial irregularities; officers arrested Sathiya-Balan on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, and released him under investigation.

Following a lengthy investigation Sathiya-Balan was subsequently charged.

Detective Constable Samuel Cafferty of the South Area Command said: "Sathiya-Balan has caused significant financial loss and distress to those whom he worked with.

"While an exact figure of how much money Sathiya-Balan took has yet to be confirmed, it is estimated he stole in the region of £80,000 for his own personal gain.

"He had absolutely no thought for those around him, abusing the trust of his employers and continued taking money for three years while he worked; enjoying expensive trips, lavish accessories and a wealthy, selfish way of life.

"He is undoubtedly deserving of the punishment that the judge has provided."