Jane Street Group barred by SEBI from accessing securities market, ₹4,843 crore impounded; here's a look at background

Jane Street Group and its associated entities have been barred by the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, from accessing the securities markets, as per the SEBI's July 3 interim order in the alleged matter of index manipulation by the group.

SEBI said that the entities are prohibited from buying or selling securities, directly or indirectly.

The "unlawful gains" of ₹4,843 crore from the alleged violations have also been impounded, SEBI said. "Banks, where entities are holding bank accounts, are directed to ensure that no debits are made, without permission of SEBI, in respect of the bank accounts held individually or jointly by entities, except for the purpose of complying with this order. However, credits, if any, into the accounts may be allowed," the interim order said.

Furthermore, SEBI said that if Jane Street Group have any open positions in any exchange-traded derivative contracts, they can close out/square off such open positions within three months or at the expiry of such contracts, whichever is earlier.

Background

• April 2024: SEBI carried out an analysis following media reports referencing a legal dispute involving Jane Street Group for alleged unauthorised use of their proprietary trading strategies in Indian markets.
• December 2024: "SEBI observed what appeared to be abnormally high or low volatility on weekly index options expiry days. Further, SEBI noted that there were certain entities consistently running what appeared to be by far the largest risks in ‘cash equivalent’ terms in F&O, particularly on expiry days. SEBI constituted a team of officials to further examine the issue in a more detailed and comprehensive manner," the interim order stated.
• February 2025: Prima facie, Jane Street Group appeared to be engaged in activities in violation of SEBI PFUTP regulations, the 105-page document said.
• February 2025: On SEBI’s instructions, NSE issued a caution letter to Jane Street Singapore Pte Limited and its related unit, JSI Investments Pvt Ltd, asking to refrain from taking large (cash-equivalent) positions and undertaking certain trading patterns.
• February 2025: Jane Street Group replied to the caution letter.
• May 2025: Jane Street Group was observed running very large 'cash-equivalent' positions in index options in disregard to the caution letter.

New York-headquartered Jane Street Group is a global proprietary trading company in the financial services industry. It is involved in trading a broad range of asset classes on over 200 venues in 45 countries.