Jane Street deposits $567 million so it can resume India trading, sources say

Jane Street, which has been accused of market manipulation by Indian authorities, has deposited $567 million in escrow accounts which will allow the U.S. firm to resume trading, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) this month barred the U.S. high-frequency trading giant from buying and selling securities in the Indian market and put a seize on $567 million of its funds.

Jane Street would only be allowed to resume trading if an equivalent amount of funds were deposited in an escrow account.

The company has told its staff it plans to contest SEBI’s allegations and that the practices in question were “basic index arbitrage trading”.

“The money has been deposited in good faith. The firm continues to contest the order and will send a formal response rebutting the allegations in coming weeks,” said one of the sources.

India’s ban on Jane Street hits options volumes; rebound expected in coming weeks

Both sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified.

Jane Street and the Securities and Exchange Board of India did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

SEBI alleges that Jane Street bought large quantities of constituents in India’s Bank Nifty> index in the cash and futures markets to artificially support the index in morning trade, while simultaneously building large short positions in index options which were exercised or allowed to expire later in the day.

The regulator, which tracked Jane Street’s trading patterns for more than two years, has also widened its investigation to include other indexes and exchanges, a source has said.

Jane Street does not intend to trade in Indian options while the dispute is unresolved, said one of the sources.