Jane Street barred from Indian markets as regulator freezes $566 million

Summary

A general view of the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) building is seen in the business district of Mumbai, India, on July 1, 2025.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesThe Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has temporarily barred Jane Street Group from accessing India's securities market, after it accused the U.S. firm of widespread market manipulation.According to an interim order posted on the regulator's website on Thursday, Jane Street's "entities are restrained from accessing the securities market and are further prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities, directly or indirectly."SEBI also issued an interim order to freeze over 48.4 billion Indian rupees ($566.3 million) from Jane Street in alleged illegal gains. It further stated that banks have been directed to ensure that "no debits are made, without permission of SEBI," for accounts held by Jane Street's entities either jointly or individually.Jane Street disputed the findings of SEBI's interim order and said it will further engage with the regulator, in response to queries from CNBC. A Jane Street spokesperson added that the firm "is committed to operating in compliance with all regulations in the regions we operate around the world."'Without any plausible economic rationale'Jane Street allegedly used various strategies to artificially influence India's benchmark Nifty 50 index — which tracks the country's top 50 companies — and profit from significantly larger positions in index options.According to SEBI's 105-page interim order, Jane Street would aggressively buy large amounts of stocks and futures that are part of the BANKNIFTY index, which tracks the performance of India's banking sector, early in the trading day. The quantitative trading firm would then place large bets that the index would decline later in the day.Jane Street would then sell off the positions it had bought earlier, dragging the index lower and making their earlier bets in the options market fa...