SEBI imposed a fine of $ 567 million on Jane Street, which has been deposited by the company. While it can resume trade in India, it has avoided doing so, Roots Informed last month. File | Photo Credit: Reuters
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched a formal investigation in the trading practices of Jane Street, even though its monitoring department recommended otherwise the market participants were recommended due to continuous complaints, two sources said with direct knowledge of the case.
SEBI also believed that the initial investigation in the US High-Frequency Trading Firm used insufficient data, said, “Amidst the apprehension that it could” manipulate “in stock and bond markets.”
On July 4, the top regulatory body temporarily stopped the firm from local markets on allegations of manipulation in the market, which the company refused.
SEBI imposed a fine of $ 567 million on Jane Street, which has been deposited by the company. While it can resume trade in India, it has avoided doing so, Roots Informed last month.
On Wednesday (September 3, 2025), Jane Street filed an appeal against SEBI before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), demanding documents and data, which led to a formal investigation.
The firm questioned why the regulator went against the advice of its own monitoring department as to that the investigation against Jane Street should be discontinued and the documents were searched which supported the change of regulator’s stance.
Initially, the appeal for Monday (September 8, 2025) will now be heard by the Tribunal on Tuesday (September 9, 2025) after a government change on the Eid holiday date.
Emails sent to SEBI and Jane Street were not demanded. The firm had earlier refused to comment on its appeal.
According to two sources, SEBI’s top leadership was not satisfied with the first examination concluded by its own monitoring department on 11 December and was selected to start a formal inquiry at the end of December 2024, which gives the powers to search for data from the trading firm’s Custodian Bank and Domestic Business Partners.
A formal investigation is a semi-legal process under the Indian regulatory regulations, contrary to an internal investigation.
According to SEBI Agrawal, a former SEBI officer and founder partner of the Regstreet Law Advisor, once a formal inquiry starts any pre -conclusion, reduces its weight, reduces its weight, and the process begins renewed.
“The first determination of the first, whether favorable or unfavorable, is kept separate in favor of an independent investigation,” he said.
The regulator also continued to receive complaints from the market participants of manipulation of major sequences of India, both people said.
In its appeal, the firm has sought copies of these complaints.
Such a complaint was filed on 17 December by UAE-based alternative merchant Mayank Bansal, who said Roots “Communication between a market participant and regulator is based on privacy”.
Later that month, the department, which oversee India’s market regulation, recommended to open an inquiry to bring disability in the matter, the first source said.
SEBI assigned a new team with a new team reviewing the firm’s trading activity over a longer deadline than the trading data examined by its monitoring department. The data was also very wide, both people said.
While the regulator continued the investigation, it issued a warning to the firm through Indian exchanges in February that it should avoid taking big positions during the end of the regulator’s 4 July order, during the end of derivative contracts. Price instability can often spread around those expiry.
But on 15 May the firm’s trading performance earned it 3.7 billion rupees ($ 42.28 million), forced SEBI to pass an order, the first source said.
The first person said, “SEBI officials worked overnight to end their investigation in June, which eventually passed the order.”
($ 1 = 87.5060 Indian rupees).
Published – 05 September, 2025 07:19 pm IST
