What is Jane Street? Here's why SEBI accused it of illegally making '$567 million'

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India's market regulator, has banneda US-based trading firm, Jane Street Group, from accessing the local securities market for allegedly amassing massive gains using "illegal manipulation".

On Thursday, SEBI published a 105-page note accusing the company of market manipulation and restraining it from dealing in local securities. It said the company violated market "fairness and integrity" and illegally benefited from its trading activities.

"It has been shown that at least on 21 days, the JS Group has prima facie engaged in illegal manipulation of the securities that comprise the BANKNIFTY and NIFTY indices, thereby vitiating market fairness and integrity, and illegally benefiting from their trading activities and positions in the index options markets," SEBI said in a statement.

"This is an unusual case where, prima facie, multiple liquid stocks with high retail participation have together been manipulated to facilitate the manipulation of the index options market, resulting in massive profits for the manipulators, at the cost of other participants and retail traders," it added.

The market regulator said in the order that it would impound 48.4 billion rupees ($567 million) from Jane Street, which it said was the "total amount of unlawful gains" earned due to "alleged violations".

Jane Street, denying SEBI's allegation, said it is committed to operating in compliance with all regulations in the region.

What is Jane Street Group?

Jane Street Group was founded by a small group of traders and "technologists" in New York in the late 1990s, according to the firm's website. It now employs over 3000 workers across five global offices.

What does Jane Street Group do?

The Jane Street Group says itemphasizes "understanding the edge cases and tail risks that others overlook".

Its researchers and traders performquantitative analysis of markets using sophisticated software. "This allows us to provide liquidity during the market’s most volatile moments," it adds.

"We are a global liquidity provider and trading firm that uses sophisticated quantitative analysis and a deep understanding of market mechanics to help keep prices consistent and reliable," it says.

The company trades in equities, bonds, options markets, and others. It registers profits by number-crunching, employing machine learning and "pen-and-paper" mathematics.

The SEBI order said that between January 2023 and March 2025, Jane Street made $4.3 billion from trading in Indian derivatives and cash market.