The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) lifted its trading ban on Copthall Mauritius Investment Ltd., a JPMorgan Chase subsidiary, on September 9. This decision followed the firm's deposit of ₹29.6 million, which SEBI estimated as wrongful gains from market manipulation.
Copthall Mauritius Investment and Indian brokerage Mansi Share and Stock Broking were implicated in manipulating the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closing auction session on August 13. The auction mechanism, launched on August 3, was intended to improve price determination for BSE Sensex constituents.
According to SEBI, Copthall placed buy orders for 3.17 million shares and cancelled approximately one-third of them. Mansi Share and Stock Broking placed sell orders for 1.28 million shares and cancelled nearly all of them. The goal was to influence closing prices to benefit their options positions.
While both firms are now permitted to trade in general markets, Copthall remains barred from participating in the BSE closing auction session. SEBI's investigation continues, and a confirmatory order will be issued after formal hearings to determine if additional penalties will be applied.