Jane Street Banned: India Freezes $566 Million in Landmark Nifty 50 Manipulation Crackdown
India's SEBI bans U.S. trading giant Jane Street and freezes $566 million amid allegations of Nifty 50 index manipulation. Discover the details of this landmark regulatory action
Jane Street Banned: India Freezes $566 Million in Landmark Nifty 50 Manipulation Crackdown
In a significant move, India's capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has barred the prominent U.S. trading firm Jane Street Group from participating in the Indian securities market. This comes as SEBI announced on Friday an interim order to freeze over 48.4 billion Indian rupees (approximately $566.3 million) in alleged illicit gains from the firm.
The regulatory body's order explicitly states that 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." Furthermore, banks holding accounts linked to Jane Street, whether jointly or individually, have been instructed to prevent any debits without SEBI's express permission.
Allegations of Nifty 50 Manipulation
SEBI's drastic action stems from allegations that Jane Street employed various sophisticated strategies to artificially influence India's benchmark Nifty 50 index. This index, which tracks the performance of the country's top 50 companies, was allegedly manipulated to allow Jane Street to profit from significantly larger positions in index options.
According to the regulator, these manipulative trading practices persisted even after an "explicit advisory" was issued to the firm in February 2025, highlighting a pattern of continued alleged misconduct.
Broader Regulatory Concerns
This crackdown on Jane Street aligns with SEBI's growing concerns over certain trading practices, particularly algorithmic trading. In a September 2024 report, SEBI had previously voiced its apprehension that such practices allowed proprietary traders and foreign portfolio investors to amass substantial profits, reportedly 610 billion Indian rupees, in the fiscal year 2024. During the same period, retail investors and other market participants reportedly incurred equivalent losses, raising questions about market fairness and integrity.
