Jane Street Runs Into Trouble With India Curbs After Trading Windfall

India’s regulator has temporarily barred Jane Street from accessing the local securities market, dealing a severe hit to the US firm that allegedly made $4.3 billion in trading gains in the South Asian nation in more than two years. The Securities and Exchange Board of India said it would seize 48.4 billion rupees ($570 million) from Jane Street, which it claimed is the total amount of “unlawful gains” made by the firm, according to an interim order.

Jane Street is one of the most active foreign players in India, the world’s largest derivatives market by contracts traded, and one that has become a magnet for high-frequency trading firms amid a retail investing boom sparked by the pandemic. SEBI’s order marks a rare instance of such an action against a foreign entity.