Jane Street complies with Sebi order, deposits $564 million: report

Jane Street Group LLC has deposited Rs4,834 crore ($564 million) into an escrow account to comply with an order from India’s securities regulator, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The US-based trading firm made the deposit as directed in the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) 3 July order, the report said, citing the people who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

Jane Street currently has no immediate plans to resume trading in India’s options market, the report added.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported the deposit citing unnamed people.

The 3 July order from Sebi temporarily barred Jane Street from India’s markets over allegations that the firm manipulated the benchmark Nifty index to generate what the regulator called “illegal gains.”

Sebi required Jane Street to deposit those gains in an escrow account with a local bank. The firm has denied the allegations.

In a 6 July internal note to staff, Jane Street said it “strongly rejected” the premise and substance of Sebi’s interim order, while indicating that it is preparing a formal response while evaluating legal options, Bloomberg reported earlier.

The dispute marks a rare regulatory setback for Jane Street, a major global proprietary trading firm known for its dominance in ETFs, options, and arbitrage trading.

The company, founded in 2000 and headquartered in New York, operates in markets around the world and has grown into one of the largest liquidity providers globally.

The regulator’s scrutiny follows a period of record derivatives activity in India, which has become the world’s largest equity derivatives market by volume.

The case has drawn attention as India tightens oversight of high-frequency trading and market conduct amid surging investor participation.