
US based quantitative trading firm Jane Street has been allowed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to resume trading in Indian stock markets after depositing Rs 4,843.50 crore (approximately USD 567 million), according to a Reuters report citing sources.However, there has been no official public update from Sebi confirming the lifting of the ban. The deposit is linked to alleged illegal gains made by the firm, which had earlier been barred from participating in Indian markets.Sebi emailed Jane Street on Friday, informing the firm that the restrictions imposed by the interim order would no longer apply following the deposit. The market regulator has also instructed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to closely monitor Jane Street’s trading activity in India.However, both exchanges have not yet allowed the firm to resume buying and selling Indian securities.“While the firm has been allowed to resume trading in India, it has given an undertaking to Sebi that it will not trade in options. The firm also does not intend to trade in cash till it has explained its trades to Sebi,” Reuters reported, quoting sources.Sebi alleged that the firm made around Rs 36,500 crore in unlawful profits through calculated trading strategies across multiple segments, including cash equities, stock futures, index futures, and index options.The regulatory investigation revealed that Jane Street maintained “consistently the largest risks in ‘cash equivalent’ terms in F&O, particularly on index option expiry days.”Earlier last week, Jane Street Capital deposited the alleged gains in an escrow account and requested Sebi to lift the trading ban. Sebi acknowledged in a recent press release that the firm had made the deposit “without prejudice” to its legal rights and requested permission to resume trading.“They (Jane Street) have further stated that this action has been undertaken by them without prejudice to their rights and remedies which remain available to them in law and equity,” the market regulators said in a release.Sebi, in its last public statement on July 14, said the firm’s request was still under examination and that any final decision would be guided by the interim order’s directions.