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Jane Street has appealed against an order that alleged it manipulated Indian markets following a ban imposed by the country’s securities regulator.
In a filing to an appellate tribunal on Wednesday, the US high-frequency trading firm said the Securities and Exchange Board of India had also refused it access to crucial and relevant documents for its defence.
Jane Street, which plays a central role trading stocks and bonds around the world, is making a legal challenge to a temporary ban on trading derivatives in India imposed in July. The restriction was lifted after the firm deposited about $560mn in an escrow account.
Sebi had accused the firm of a “sinister scheme” to manipulate cash and futures markets and entice small investors to trade at unfavourable and misleading prices.
Jane Street was one of India’s largest foreign traders and has made billions of dollars in recent years from trading options.
The firm’s filing said a Sebi investigation last December had been unable to establish that it had influenced to its advantage the BankNifty options index, which tracks Indian bank stocks and has been at the centre of Sebi’s investigations for the alleged manipulation.
The filing also alleged Sebi’s July ban order had omitted most details of that investigation.
Sebi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Financial Times reported this week that Jane Street had second-quarter trading revenues of $10.1bn, outstripping Wall Street’s biggest banks, as it benefited from volatile markets in the wake of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs policy.
