Former SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has strongly refuted allegations that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) delayed action in the high-profile Jane Street case. In a press statement, Buch said the market regulator began investigating the matter over a year before issuing its interim order on July 3 and accused some media outlets of promoting a “false narrative” of regulatory failure.
The July 3 order barred Jane Street and its Indian subsidiary, JSI Investment, from accessing India’s securities market and demanded disgorgement of Rs 4,840 crore in alleged illicit gains. The order alleges that the firm used its Indian arm to conduct intraday cash segment trades to distort options pricing on expiry days.
“The interim order has clearly documented the sequence of events,” Buch said, referring to the SEBI order that accuses global trading firm Jane Street of expiry-day manipulation in index derivatives. “The chronology clearly shows that SEBI commenced an examination of the matter as early as April 2024 itself and took numerous steps including identification of the index manipulation, issuance of circulars and issuance of a caution letter to Jane Street to cease and desist from undertaking certain trading patterns between April 2024 and February 2025,” she said in the statement.
According to Buch, SEBI not only identified signs of index manipulation but also took concrete steps, including policy circulars and a cease-and-desist letter sent to Jane Street via the National Stock Exchange in February 2025, months before the public order was released.
“It is extremely unfortunate that certain sections of the media are ignoring these facts in plain sight,” she said, adding, “The order passed by SEBI speaks for itself.” “This is not a case of inaction,” Buch further said. “SEBI was seized of the matter from April 2024 and undertook a rigorous investigation of complex trading strategies before acting,” her statement read.
Buch’s three-year term as market regulator’s chief ended in February 2025.