The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred four entities of the Jane Street Group from accessing Indian securities markets, alleging fraud and manipulation in the derivatives segment.
In its 105-page interim order, SEBI revealed a sophisticated, expiry-day-centric trading strategy deployed by the US-based proprietary trading firm. The order details how the Jane Street Group manipulated index levels through aggressive buying and selling of key Bank Nifty and Nifty 50 constituent stocks, thereby influencing options pricing to generate substantial profits.
SEBI identified 18 trading sessions — 15 involving Bank Nifty and three involving Nifty 50 — where the group allegedly engaged in “sharp, large, and aggressive interventions” across the cash and derivatives segments. These actions, SEBI said, distorted market prices and undermined market integrity.
Bank Nifty Stocks Targeted
Jane Street’s alleged manipulation primarily involved aggressive morning purchases of Bank Nifty constituents — including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDFC First Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Canara Bank and Bandhan Bank — followed by large-scale afternoon sell-offs.
For instance, on January 17, 2024, Jane Street reportedly executed trades worth ₹4,370 crore in these stocks and booked a net options profit of ₹673 crore.
Nifty 50 Stocks Also Involved
SEBI further uncovered similar patterns involving Nifty 50 constituents, particularly during expiry days in May 2025. Stocks allegedly used to influence index levels included Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Life Insurance Company, Axis Bank, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Additionally, the firm executed trades in a broad range of Nifty 50 stocks including Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Apollo Hospitals, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, BEL, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Coal India, Dr. Reddy’s, Eicher Motors, Grasim, HCL Technologies, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco, HUL, Jio Financial Services, JSW Steel, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Nestlé India, NTPC, ONGC, Power Grid, SBI Life, Shriram Finance, Sun Pharma, Tata Consumer, Tata Motors, and Tata Steel.
Manipulation Strategy
SEBI’s investigation found that on 15 Bank Nifty expiry days, Jane Street first aggressively bought large quantities of constituent stocks and futures, artificially pushing up or supporting the index in the morning. In the second half of the session, the group systematically unwound these positions, selling in large volumes and exerting downward pressure — profiting from options positions aligned with this engineered movement.
Between January 2023 and March 2025, the Jane Street Group recorded a total profit of ₹36,502 crore, with ₹43,289 crore earned from index options alone. SEBI noted that these gains were offset by cumulative losses amounting to ₹7,687 crore across stock futures, index futures, and the cash segment.
Regulatory Action
SEBI concluded that Jane Street’s trading activities misled thousands of retail derivatives traders and violated the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) regulations. The regulator has barred the group’s entities from trading in Indian markets until further notice and directed them to deposit the impounded ₹4,843.5 crore.
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