On Thursday, the Income Tax Department began a survey under Section 133A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, at Nuvama’s registered office. The company, formerly known as Edelweiss Broking, confirmed the development, stating that “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.”
In a separate exchange filing, Nuvama said that the survey was ongoing and that it would make appropriate disclosures in line with Sebi regulations.
“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 Jane Street fallout
Nuvama served as Jane Street’s on-ground trading partner in India and has not been directly named in the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) interim order issued on July 3. However, the firm has been drawn into the regulatory crossfire after Jane Street was accused of executing a “sophisticated scheme” to manipulate index levels, particularly the Nifty and Bank Nifty, on derivatives expiry days.Sebi alleged that the U.S.-based proprietary trading firm amassed profits of Rs 36,502 crore between January 2023 and March 2025, of which Rs 43,289 crore came from index options, while it incurred losses of Rs 7,687 crore in the cash and futures segments. The market regulator ordered Rs 4,843.57 crore in “unlawful gains” to be impounded and held in escrow.A Sebi investigation found that Jane Street’s expiry-day trades frequently involved aggressive buying or selling of large-cap stocks such as Reliance, SBI, TCS, HDFC Bank and Infosys to sway index movements, misleading retail traders who read the moves as market signals. On one occasion in January 2024, the firm earned Rs 734.93 crore in a single day by executing an alleged pump-and-dump strategy on Bank Nifty futures and options.Despite a cautionary letter issued via NSE in February 2025, Jane Street continued with these strategies. While NSE closed its internal probe in May after a response from Nuvama, Sebi moved ahead with enforcement action.
Conditional return to market
Following its interim order, Sebi permitted Jane Street to return to the market on July 21, conditional upon the deposit of Rs 4,844 crore into an escrow account. According to The Economic Times, the firm met the July 14 deadline and complied with Sebi’s instructions.
However, Jane Street’s access remains tightly watched. Reuters, citing sources, reported that both the NSE and BSE have been asked to closely monitor the firm’s trades. A second source told the news agency that Jane Street has provided an undertaking to Sebi that it will avoid options trading and refrain from cash market activity until its strategies are clarified with the regulator.
Market-wide impact
The enforcement action against Jane Street has had ripple effects on India’s derivatives markets. On July 17, the NSE’s index options premium turnover plunged to Rs 39,625.77 crore, a 35% drop from June’s daily average of Rs 60,605 crore, highlighting the firm’s outsized role in the segment. Expiry-day volumes have remained depressed through July.
Even as Sebi’s action focused squarely on Jane Street, the involvement of Nuvama as its Indian execution partner has sparked investor unease. The absence of direct allegations against Nuvama has done little to shield its shares from volatility, as regulatory overhang and tax department scrutiny continue to weigh on sentiment.
Nuvama shares are down 16% in one month and are trading flat year-to-date.
Also read | Jane Street trading probe: IT raids Nuvama Wealth, formerly Edelweiss Broking(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
