Jane Street is reportedly not cooperating with the Income Tax Department or the ongoing investigation, a person familiar with the development told Moneycontrol on August 1.
"Their (Jane Street) servers are located outside India and access is being blocked. The books of accounts are also maintained outside the country, despite the requirement under Indian company law to maintain them in India. They have only a skeletal staff present here, who are also not cooperating," the person said, requesting anonymity.
The person added that "it's premature at this stage. Once income tax department gets all transaction data, books of account and their effective control and management strategy would be estimated."
The development comes a day after I-T survey at Mumbai premises of Jane Street’s on-ground trading partner Nuvama Wealth Management.
"The Income Tax Department is conducting a survey today, under Section 133A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, at the Company’s Registered office. The Company is extending full co-operation with the authorities and sharing requisite information," said Nuvama Wealth in a stock exchange filing.
"The survey is yet to be concluded. The Company will make requisite disclosures, if any, to the stock exchanges under SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The Company continues to operate business as usual," the company added.
On July 4, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred US-based hedge fund Jane Street from trading in Indian markets, accusing the firm of manipulating stock indices through its derivatives positions.
In response, Jane Street deposited ₹4,843 crore in an escrow account—an amount SEBI described as “unlawful gains”—in an effort to resume trading while reserving its right to challenge the action legally. The firm has rejected the allegations, maintaining that the transactions were standard arbitrage trades.
Following this deposit, SEBI had lifted the trading ban on Jane Street last week.
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