logo
Sebi bans Jane Street, says disgorge Rs 4.8k crore

Sebi bans Jane Street, says disgorge Rs 4.8k crore

Time of India3 days ago
US fund Jane St banned from D-St over 'mkt manipulation'
MUMBAI: Markets regulator Sebi late on Thursday banned US-based foreign fund Jane Street from the Indian market for manipulating stocks and derivatives segments over several years to make huge illegal gains.
Jane St, known for their quant-based trading strategies, has also been asked to disgorge nearly Rs 4,850 crore - illegal gains accrued to them by trading on the NSE between Jan 2023 and March 2025, a Sebi order said. This is the highest-ever disgorgement amount ordered by Sebi for any kind of illegal activity in the market.
In an interim order, Sebi banned JSI Investments, JSI2 Investments, Jane Street Singapore and Jane Street Asia Trading, from trading in the Indian market until further notice.
The markets regulator's investigation will continue.
Multiple Strategies:
So far, Sebi has identified two types of manipulative strategies. One was to buy heavily in Bank Nifty's 12 constituent stocks and futures in the morning session, then buying put options on the index, selling the stocks aggressively in the afternoon to pull down Bank Nifty that in turn pushed up index options prices to eventually make huge profits.
The other strategy was to push for concentrated selling or buying in the last two hours of the expiry day to swing index levels and make profits.The investigation report noted that although Jane St incurred some losses in some parts of the trades, profits from the rest more than made up for the losses.
Rs 36,502 cr profits:
Sebi's interim investigation showed that between Jan 2023 and March 2025, Jane St had made a total profit of Rs 36,502 crore.
During that period, on Jan 17, 2024, the trading firm had made a profit of Rs 735 crore, the highest single-day gain for the now-banned foreign fund.
NSE caution letter:
While Sebi was investigating Jane St's trading activities, on Feb 6, 2025, NSE had issued a caution letter to Jane Street Singapore and its related entity, asking them to refrain from taking large positions in the Indian market and to refrain from undertaking certain trading patterns.
However, in disregard of NSE's caution letter, and the group's commitments to the exchange, "Jane St was observed to continue to run very large (trading) positions in index options", Sebi's report noted.Sources said there is a strong case that the period of investigation as well as exchanges on which Jane St had traded could be expanded to unearth the full scale of manipulation in the Indian market by the US-based global quant trading giant.
"The interim order has only looked at 18 major days of prima facie Bank Nifty index manipulation on expiry day between Jan 2023 and March 2025), and three days of nifty index manipulation on expiry day during May 2025," sources said. "Investigations into other expiry days, other indices (including across exchanges), and other potential patterns besides the two highlighted in the order will need to continue."
"There should not be any major market impact from this enforcement action," sources said. "In the long run, the growth in market confidence, and a free and fair market, should aid responsible investing and capital formation."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Gadkari's remarks call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat 2047' reality check
Gadkari's remarks call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat 2047' reality check

Hans India

time32 minutes ago

  • Hans India

Gadkari's remarks call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat 2047' reality check

It is quite rare for an incumbent Union minister to openly admit that, at times, statistical figures may not always reflect the ground realities. It takes guts for a minister to come up with facts that debunk theories floated by the government in power as regards claims about achievements and 'steady' economic growth. Although, on the face of it, India has this year pipped Japan to emerge as the world's fourth-largest economy in terms of GDP, the fact of the matter is that the country is yet to come out of the shackles of economic inequality. UNDP's latest report on Asia-Pacific Human Development states that the addition of around 40 billionaires has taken their count to 143, while, in these intervening years, 46 million Indians have been pushed to the BPL strata. One must give it to the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, who, on Saturday, dared to come up with some chilling facts and figures that are in stark contrast to the lofty claims of the NDA government at the Centre, which continues to harp on the 'fastest growing major economy' tag. Their projections appear as if the country is doing 'wonderfully well' across sectors, even as the government remains silent on the darker side of the 'vibrant' economy. Expressing concern over the 'rising' number of poor, and wealth getting concentrated in the hands of a limited number of people, Gadkari was bang on with his call for decentralisation of wealth. While lauding former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh for pursuing growth-oriented economic policies, Gadkari cautioned against unchecked centralisation and the imbalances in sectoral contributions to the GDP. Underscoring the need to focus on creating jobs and uplift the rural folk, he noted, 'There is a need for decentralisation of wealth. Agriculture, despite engaging 65-70 per cent of the rural population, contributes only around 12 per cent.' The minister was not being critical but speaking his heart out, while putting things in their right perspective. Disparity exists even among Indian states, many of which are 'prosperous' while in other States, people continue to stare at abject poverty, Notwithstanding the fact that the country's per capita income has risen from $442 to $2,389 in the last 20 years, the reality is that whatever income and wealth that was generated in these two decades has been garnered by a miniscule section of the population (the elite class) while the misery of the poor has turned nightmarish, despite a multitude of government-sponsored welfare schemes. Many economists assert that the disparity has widened since 2017 following the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and lowering of the corporate tax rate. Irrespective of the reasons behind the GST move, one must not forget that this hangs as the 'Sword of Damocles', on the middle class and BPL families. People in the know have always wondered at the growing inequality despite the steady economic growth in the past few years. There is a well-orchestrated demand to introduce wealth tax as a measure to check the existing inequality from getting wider, while duly earmarking the revenue so generated for welfare schemes, education and healthcare. Laws should be so tightly framed and implemented that the rich, unwilling to dole out wealth tax, don't make a beeline to tax havens. Viksit Bharat 2027, anyone?

Quarrying a sword of Damocles over Kerala's Konni locals
Quarrying a sword of Damocles over Kerala's Konni locals

New Indian Express

time36 minutes ago

  • New Indian Express

Quarrying a sword of Damocles over Kerala's Konni locals

PATHANAMTHITTA: The fatal rockfall at the Chengalam Thazham crusher unit in Payyanamon, Konni — which claimed the life of a migrant worker and left a fellow compatriot trapped — has once again exposed the unchecked quarrying operations in the state's ecologically sensitive zones. What locals call a 'silent exploitation' has now hardened into a deadly pattern, enabled by weak oversight and regulatory indifference. According to a local panchayat official, officials from the geology department had visited the area for an inspection following the Mundakkai landslide in Wayanad, but failed to consult residents. 'It was just a random site check. No local inputs were sought, no community impact was assessed,' the official said. The Western Ghats Protection Committee, a vocal critic of quarrying in the region, has demanded that a case of wilful homicide be filed against key officials — including the district geologist, Pollution Control Board officers, the Konni tehsildar, the local panchayat secretary, and the quarry owner. The committee also called for Rs 1 crore in compensation for the family of the deceased worker.

'Manjummel Boys' case: Cops grill Soubin, partners
'Manjummel Boys' case: Cops grill Soubin, partners

New Indian Express

time37 minutes ago

  • New Indian Express

'Manjummel Boys' case: Cops grill Soubin, partners

KOCHI: Actor Soubin Shahir and two other partners of Parva Films, the producer of hit movie Manjummel Boys, appeared before the police for interrogation on Monday in connection with a cheating case registered in Kochi. Earlier, the Kerala High Court had granted anticipatory bail to Soubin, his father, Babu Shahir, and partner, Shawn Antonyi, in the case, directing that they be released on bail in case of arrest. In response to the summons issued by the police last month, the three arrived at the Maradu police station around 10.30 am on Monday. The interrogation continued till evening, during which they gave statements regarding the movie's finances and their transactions with the complainant. The case pertains to a complaint filed by Aroor native Siraj Valiyathara, who alleged that the trio failed to give him the promised share of profits from the film. Siraj said he invested Rs 7 crore in the film after being assured of a 40% profit share.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store