Former Sebi chief Madhabi Buch denies regulatory failure in Jane Street case
Says Sebi investigation began in April 2024 during her tenure; calls media allegations of regulatory failure “unfortunate”
Mumbai: Former Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Tuesday said the capital markets regulator was seized of the Jane Street matter since April 2024, and termed attempts to imply regulatory failure as “unfortunate”.
In a written statement after the publishing of a media report, Buch pointed to chronology in Sebi’s interim order against Jane Street, which has been accused of gaining at least Rs 4,800 crore through market manipulation in support of her claim.
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Attempts are being made to create a “false narrative of regulatory failure,” Buch, whose term ended in March this year, said.
“It is extremely unfortunate that certain sections of the media are choosing to ignore facts in plain sight and seeking to create a false narrative by implying that there was regulatory failure by Sebi,” the statement by Buch said.
She said the chronology shows that Sebi commenced examination of the matter as early as April 2024. The regulator took “numerous steps”, including identification of the index manipulation, issuance of circulars and caution letter to Jane Street to cease and desist from undertaking certain trading patterns between April 2024 and February 2025, she said.
There were policy interventions initiated by Sebi as well in October 2024, and finally, in February 2025, Sebi instructed the NSE to issue a “cease and desist” letter to Jane Street.
As per the order issued last Friday, Jane Street restarted trading activities intended to gain through market manipulations in May this year, ultimately leading to the order.
According to market watchers, Sebi usually takes over a year to complete investigations. During Buch’s term as the chairperson, Sebi had been disclosing pendency of investigations and other requests, seeking to minimise the timelines.
In an order released in the early hours of Friday, the market regulator has found Jane Street, a New York-based hedge fund, guilty of manipulating the indices by taking bets in the cash, and, futures and options markets simultaneously for making handsome gains.
It has suspended the hedge fund from accessing the market and impounded over Rs 4,843 crore in gains. The probe has found that JS made a profit of Rs 36,671 crore on a net basis during the probe period from January 2023-May 2025.
