Ex-Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch asserts probe against Jane Street was initiated and carried through under her watch, slams ‘false narrative’

In a press statement issued Tuesday, Buch said SEBI began investigating the matter more than a year before its July 3 interim order, and accused sections of the media of pushing a "false narrative" of regulatory failure.

Madhabi Puri Buch, the former Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has pushed back against criticism that the market regulator was late to act in the Jane Street case.

In a press statement issued on July 8, Buch said Sebi began investigating the matter more than a year before its July 3 interim order, and accused sections of the media of pushing a "false narrative" of regulatory failure.

"The interim order... has clearly documented the sequence of events," Buch said, referring to the 105-page order that accuses the global quant firm of expiry-day manipulation in index derivatives. Sebi’s probe started in April 2024 and involved a multi-disciplinary team tasked with examining Jane Street’s trading structures and patterns, she added.

Between April 2024 and February 2025, Buch said Sebi identified potential index manipulation, issued policy circulars, and even directed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to send a cease-and-desist letter to Jane Street in February 2025 — months before the public order.

Read More: Jane Street leveraged India entity to breach FPI rules, powering strategy for alleged illicit gains

“It is extremely unfortunate that certain sections of the media are choosing to ignore these facts in plain sight and seeking to create a false narrative by implying that there was regulatory failure by Sebi,” she said. “The order passed by Sebi speaks for itself.” Read More

The July 3 order barred Jane Street and its Indian entity, JSI Investment Pvt Ltd, from accessing the Indian securities market and directed them to disgorge Rs 4,840 crore ($560 million) in alleged unlawful gains. It also laid out how the firm allegedly used its India-based unit to execute intraday trades in the cash segment — a route unavailable to FPIs — to influence options pricing on expiry days.

“This is not a case of inaction,” she said. “Sebi was seized of the matter right from April 2024 and took numerous steps to investigate extremely complex structures and verify the data before issuing its order.”

Read More: 'Better enforcement, not new rules': Sebi sources on regulatory reaction on Jane Street

The Jane Street case has turned into one of the most high-profile enforcement actions in Sebi's history and is expected to have a lasting impact on how derivatives trading and algorithmic strategies are regulated in India.