Jane Street Firm Denies Allegations of Index Manipulation in India
Jane Street Group denies accusations of index manipulation made by India's securities regulator and vows to defend itself against the allegations.
Jane Street Group LLC has strongly rejected claims by India's securities regulator regarding alleged index manipulation in the country's securities market. The American proprietary trading firm intends to defend itself against the accusations made by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In response to an interim order from SEBI that accused the firm of index manipulation, Jane Street sent an email to its staff over the weekend asserting its innocence and dismissing the allegations as baseless.
SEBI had temporarily barred Jane Street from accessing India's securities market and announced its intention to seize alleged unlawful gains amounting to 48.4 billion rupees ($564 million) made by the firm through trading activities. According to SEBI, Jane Street had engaged in activities that artificially manipulated the market indexes, particularly the NSE Nifty Bank Index.
Jane Street refuted SEBI's claims, stating that its trading activity is essential for the health of financial markets and is in full compliance with standard hedging practices. The firm highlighted its role in ensuring an economic link between the Indian derivatives market and the underlying economy.
The firm expressed dismay over being mischaracterized in SEBI's report and emphasized that its trading practices are common in financial markets worldwide. It is preparing a formal response to SEBI's allegations and exploring legal options to challenge the accusations.
Senior leaders from Jane Street met with representatives of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd after receiving letters from Indian stock exchanges earlier this year. Following the meeting, the firm made adjustments to its trading practices to address concerns raised by the exchanges.
Jane Street defended its trading strategies as legitimate market practices and criticized SEBI's report for its inflammatory language and factual errors. The firm underscored its commitment to engaging with regulators and upholding transparency in its operations.