SEBI Bars JPMorgan's Copthall and Mansi Over Alleged Sensex Closing Auction Manipulation
India's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has barred JPMorgan Chase & Co.-owned entity Copthall Mauritius Investment and a domestic firm, Mansi Share and Stock Broking Pvt Ltd from accessing the securities market. The action follows alleged manipulation of the Sensex closing price during the Closing Auction Session (CAS) on August 13, an expiry day for Sensex derivatives.
SEBI has also impounded ₹3.68 crore in alleged wrongful gains from the two entities and given both firms 21 days to respond as the SEBI probe continues.
The regulator noted that 99% of institutional trading profits come from algorithmic trades, which may increase compliance risk and oversight for algorithmic trading, derivatives, and crypto trading venues like centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs).