Madhabi Puri Buch, former chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has rejected criticism that the market regulator was slow to act in the high-profile index manipulation case involving US-based trading firm Jane Street.
In a detailed note, Buch dismissed the allegations of regulatory inaction as a “false narrative”, stating that Sebi's intervention began well before the matter became public.
“In actuality, identification of index manipulation by Jane Street and initiation of numerous actions, including a cease-and-desist instruction to Jane Street, were carried out by Sebi between April 2024 and February 2025,” Buch said.
Referring to Sebi’s interim order issued on July 3, 2025, she said it clearly documented the chronology of events that led to the action taken. “The timeline clearly shows that Sebi commenced an examination of the matter as early as April 2024,” she noted.
Buch detailed several steps taken by the regulator, including the identification of suspected index manipulation, the issuance of regulatory circulars, and a cautionary letter to Jane Street instructing it to desist from specific trading patterns during the April 2024–February 2025 period.
She further said that a multi-disciplinary team was constituted during this period to investigate the matter comprehensively. The team’s findings formed the basis of Sebi’s interim order.
“It is extremely unfortunate that certain sections of the media are choosing to ignore these facts in plain sight and are attempting to create a false narrative by implying regulatory failure by Sebi and attributing ulterior motives,” Buch said. “The order passed by Sebi speaks for itself.”
She also clarified that Sebi took “numerous steps to examine and investigate the extremely complex structures and strategies deployed by the firm and to verify and analyse the data”.
In parallel with the investigation, Sebi introduced policy-level measures in October 2024 and instructed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to issue a cease-and-desist letter to Jane Street in February 2025. “All of this is clearly articulated in Sebi’s order,” she said.
Jane Street has said it intends to contest Sebi’s findings. In an internal memo sent to its approximately 3,000 employees on Sunday, senior management described the regulator’s accusations as “extremely inflammatory” and said they were “beyond disappointed”. The firm is reportedly working on a formal response.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)