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Founder and CEO of stock brokerage firm Zerodha, Nithin Kamath, on Friday lauded SEBI for "going after" Jane Street, a US-based investment firm that has been alleged of index manipulation.
In the 105-page interim order, SEBI has imposed to recover one of the highest ever illegal gains made by the group of Rs 4,843.57 crore. The order targets four key entities under the Jane Street Group umbrella: JSI Investments Pvt Ltd, JSI2 Investments Pvt Ltd, Jane Street Singapore Pte Ltd, and Jane Street Asia Trading Ltd. "You've got to hand it to SEBI for going after Jane Street. If the allegations are true, it's blatant market manipulation," Kamath wrote on X. "The shocking part? They kept at it even after receiving warnings from the exchanges. Maybe this is what happens when you're used to the lenient U.S. regulatory regime. Think about the structure of U.S. markets: dark pools, payment for order flow, and other loopholes that allow hedge funds to make billions off retail investors. None of these practices would be allowed in India, thanks to our regulators," he added. SEBI in its order today noted that the US-based firm used a profit maximising scheme to manipulate the market and booked substantial profits in index options, while incurring smaller losses in the cash and futures segments. The case stems from media reports in April 2024, pointing to legal disputes involving Jane Street's proprietary strategies in Indian markets. SEBI further stated that Jane Street Group entities, despite caution letters from NSE in February 2025 and their own commitments to refrain from certain trading behaviours, continued to deploy the same high-risk and market-distorting strategies. Given the gravity of violations and ongoing disregard for regulatory warnings, SEBI concluded that urgent intervention was necessary to protect market integrity and investor interest. (ANI)
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