Jane Street Denies Market Manipulation to India Securities Court
Wall Street firm challenges SEBI action over alleged Nifty Bank price influence
Jane Street Group LLC denied charges of manipulation as it mounted its defense against India’s markets regulator, telling a local court that stocks in a banking index fell or rose irrespective of its trading activity.
The Wall Street firm sought redacted counterparty information included in the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s trade logs that formed part of the regulator’s July interim order.
Jane Street’s appeal is a test case of SEBI’s authority following its July 3, 2025, order against the firm and seizure of alleged ill-gotten gains of 48.4 billion rupees ($503 million). While the company denied the allegations, it deposited the money but has yet to resume trading in India.
The next hearing in the Securities Appellate Tribunal is scheduled for Oct. 6.
SEBI has accused Jane Street of influencing the prices of stocks on the NSE Nifty Bank Index, a popular gauge with options contracts tied to it.
Denying the charges of abuse, Darius Khambata, a lawyer representing the firm, told the tribunal that the index stocks rose when Jane Street sold shares.
SEBI had renewed its investigation against Jane Street even after the National Stock Exchange and the regulator’s surveillance department cleared the firm of market abuse.
The Wall Street trader has sought additional data from SEBI on its inter-department communication and whistleblower complaints that prompted the regulator to set up an investigation committee.
Withholding documents from the trading firm would “vitiate” the process and goes against “natural justice,” Khambata argued, adding that Jane Street wanted to understand why the regulator disregarded its own internal review that had cleared the trading firm.