India market regulator to widen probe into Jane Street, source says
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Jane Street from buying and selling securities in the Indian market and also seized $567 of its funds.
SEBI and Jane Street did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jayshree P. Upadhyay in Mumbai and Nandan Mandayan in Bengaluru, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
India rises ranks among world's most equal societies amid rapid economic growth
India has emerged as one of the most economically equal societies in the world, ranking fourth globally in income equality, according to the World Bank's latest data. The country's Gini Index now stands at 25.5 — a significant improvement from 28.8 in 2011 — placing it ahead of all G7 and G20 nations, including the United States (41.8), China (35.7), Germany (31.4), and the United Kingdom (34.4). The Gini Index is a widely used metric to gauge income inequality on a scale from 0 (perfect equality) to 100 (extreme inequality). Only the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Belarus now rank ahead of India, reinforcing the country's emergence as a rare example of high economic growth paired with improving income equity. This recognition comes at a time when India has also been officially confirmed as the world's fourth-largest economy in nominal terms, overtaking Japan and trailing only the United States, China, and Germany. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India's GDP is projected to grow by 6.8 per cent in 2025 — among the fastest in the G20 — supported by robust domestic demand, government-led infrastructure investment, and a dynamic services sector. The World Bank's Spring 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief notes that India has lifted 171 million people out of extreme poverty between 2011 and 2023. Based on the $2.15 per day global poverty threshold, the poverty rate has declined sharply from 16.2 per cent in 2011 to just 2.3 per cent in 2023, underscoring the depth and scale of India's inclusive development. Experts attribute this transformation to a range of structural reforms and targeted welfare schemes that have expanded financial access, improved social safety nets, and enhanced public service delivery. 'India's success in narrowing inequality and reducing poverty reflects a deliberate and sustained policy focus. The country has effectively deployed digital infrastructure and direct transfers to ensure benefits reach those most in need,' the World Bank said in its commentary. The expansion of financial inclusion through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been a cornerstone of this achievement. Since its launch in 2014, the scheme has opened over 550 million bank accounts, bringing millions of unbanked individuals into the formal financial system. Linked with Aadhaar — the world's largest digital ID platform covering over 1.42 billion people — and mobile connectivity, the system has enabled seamless delivery of welfare payments via Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs). As of March 2023, DBTs had saved the government over Rs3.48 trillion by eliminating leakages and duplication. Social protection has also been significantly enhanced through Ayushman Bharat, India's universal health insurance scheme offering Rs500,000 in coverage per family annually. With over 410 million health cards issued, it represents one of the world's largest publicly funded health programs. Other key drivers of India's equity-focused development include PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) — a food security scheme benefiting over 80 crore citizens, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic — and initiatives such as Stand-Up India and PM Vishwakarma Yojana, which support marginalized entrepreneurs, artisans, and craft workers through credit, training, and formal recognition. Economists believe that India's combination of high growth and social equity offers an important model for other developing economies. 'India's case shows that it's possible to achieve rapid economic expansion while reducing inequality — provided there's strong policy coordination, technological innovation, and inclusive governance,' said Dr. Raghuram Rajan, former RBI Governor, in a recent interview. The IMF has echoed this optimism in its latest World Economic Outlook, praising India's stable macroeconomic environment and structural resilience. The report forecasts that India will contribute more than 16 per cent of global growth in 2025, second only to China, and that its share of global GDP (in purchasing power parity terms) will continue to rise steadily. While challenges remain — including regional disparities, unemployment, and the need for greater investment in education and healthcare — India's progress is increasingly being recognised as both statistically impressive and socially significant. As the world's most populous nation and a rising global economic power, India's ability to combine growth with equity could play a defining role in shaping the global development narrative over the coming decade.
Khaleej Times
11 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Dubai hotelier accused of Dh950 million crypto scam arrested in India
A Dubai hotelier accused of running a fake investment scheme worth over Dh950 million has been arrested in India. Faridabad Police, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, confirmed the arrest to Khaleej Times on Saturday, describing it as a 'big catch'. The 39-year-old suspect, who reportedly ran a four-star hotel in Dubai Marina, was allegedly the key figure behind the HPZ Token scam — a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that duped thousands of Indians with promises of unrealistically high returns. Khaleej Times is withholding the man's name for legal reasons. He was declared a fugitive economic offender by an Indian court earlier this year — a designation later made public by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED said it has identified laundered proceeds of over Rs2.2 billion (Dh956 million) in the HPZ Token case. The suspect allegedly used his Dubai businesses to move illegal funds out of India via payment gateways, then convert them into cryptocurrency, and hand over the crypto to Chinese handlers after taking a cut. 'He was arrested in Delhi's Rohini Sector 11 area and is on police remand,' Faridabad Police PRO Yashpal Yadav told Khaleej Times on Saturday. "It's a big catch." He said the suspect was tracked through a payment gateway account that had received a portion of the defrauded money. 'The bank account was opened with forged credentials,' Yadav added. The accused had reportedly moved to Dubai in 2022, shortly after the ED launched its investigation into the HPZ Token racket. According to Faridabad Police, he returned to India around three weeks ago after the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed a lookout circular against him but ordered him to cooperate with investigators. Police said the man and his business partner were running a parallel cyber fraud operation alongside their hospitality ventures. 'He kept 30 per cent of the funds and routed the remaining to his Dubai-based partner, who managed the other end of the network,' Yadav said. The arrest follows a complaint filed in January 2024 by a Faridabad-based engineer who was duped in a fake stock market investment scheme promoted on social media. The victim is said to have transferred Dh880,000 to 11 different bank accounts, all linked to the scam. Faridabad Police said the man is the 12th person arrested in the case. Investigators are now trying to locate his associate and three others. 'We are in the process of issuing a lookout circular against his partner so he can be arrested if he enters India,' Yadav said. The HPZ Token scam has emerged as one of India's largest tech-enabled financial frauds. Victims were lured into downloading a mobile app and investing in so-called crypto-mining schemes. Early fake profits were shown to build trust, only for the funds to vanish once larger amounts were invested. The ED has so far frozen or attached assets worth Rs497 crore (Dh216 million) linked to the case and uncovered over 200 shell companies allegedly created by the suspect and his associates to conceal the money trail.
The National
a day ago
- The National
Brics leaders meet under pressure from tariffs, oil shocks and climate rifts
When the leaders of the Brics group of developing countries gather on Sunday for their 17th annual summit, the backdrop is one of the most geopolitically volatile the bloc has faced in years, with trade tension, regional conflicts and energy instability all converging at once. Three forces will shape the mood in the room at the two day summit. First, US President Donald Trump's 'liberation day' tariff blitz, which has landed across the Brics. China struck a trade truce with the US recently, reducing steep levies. But India still faces duties of up to 27 per cent on exports bound for the US, while South Africa is grappling with a 31 per cent levy. Brazil has been hit with a 10 per cent baseline tariff. While these measures were paused for 90-days, that window closes on July 9, so the threat of fresh trade disruption looms large. Wars and oil Second, there's the instability in the Middle East, following a 12-day war between Israel and Iran. Oil markets have already felt the impact: Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, surged nearly 12 per cent after Israel's mid-June strike, driven by fears that further escalation could disrupt ships carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Prices have since cooled, but the stakes remain high. Any new conflict would hit oil importers, such as China and India, while a plunge would hit revenue for major Brics producers such as Russia and Brazil. That brings us to the third pressure point: the upcoming Opec+ meeting in Vienna on July 10. Russia remains a key player in the oil cartel, shaping production policy in tandem with Saudi Arabia, which is not a Brics member. Brazil joined Opec+ last year, although without binding production targets, while India and China (as major importers) closely watch the cartel's quota decisions, which influence global prices. Yet in practice, most Brics members are still price-takers rather than setters, highlighting the bloc's internal imbalance and its limited influence over global energy governance. Climate policy adds another layer of friction. While the EU continues to press for faster emissions cuts, the US has retreated from climate leadership under Mr Trump. Within Brics, positions vary: Russia is intent on protecting its fossil fuel revenue, while Brazil, India and China favour a more gradual transition that aligns with their development needs. Diverging views on climate policy point to a broader issue facing Brics: as the bloc positions itself as a champion of a more 'balanced' or 'multipolar' global order, how much actual influence does it have? Global impact Comparisons with the G7 — the bloc of industrialised nations that continues to shape global policy — are hard to avoid, given Brics' efforts to position itself as a voice for emerging economies. Yet, the group has struggled to match the G7's coherence or influence on the global stage. For example: China generates about 70 per cent of the original bloc's economic output, meaning the now expanded group (which includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE) lacks the scale and co-ordination needed to match the G7 in any meaningful way. Divisions within the bloc are not confined to economics either; they extend into diplomacy and security as well. The Middle East remains a key source of tension. Russia has taken a more assertive diplomatic line in support of Iran, particularly during its recent standoff with Israel. But other Brics members, especially India and Brazil, are likely to proceed with caution, unwilling to risk damaging relationships with the US and other western partners that are vital to their economic interests. With such differing interests, a unified stance on geopolitical crises, economic coordination, or energy policy remains unlikely. The summit is likely to deliver broad, cautious statements rather than any meaningful joint strategy. De-dollarisation? That same fragmentation is reflected in Brics' push to move away from dollar dependence — not by replacing the US currency altogether, but by reducing exposure to western-controlled financial systems. The broader aim of so-called de-dollarisation is to create alternative frameworks for trade and reserves that are less vulnerable to sanctions and less reliant on payment networks like SWIFT. However, de-dollarisation remains a distant goal. China 's renminbi is still closely managed against the greenback, the Russian rouble lacks stability, and currencies such as the Brazilian real and South African rand have little international traction. The idea of a shared BRICS currency has been raised by some leaders, but it remains more symbolic than substantive. With no common fiscal framework or monetary co-ordination among members, even developing a unified trading platform would face big obstacles. One area where Brics countries can make meaningful progress is at home. As global co-operation weakens, the way countries compete is changing. Strength now comes not only from what they sell abroad, but from the institutions they build and the connections they maintain with nearby markets. In a fragmented world, countries that combine domestic strength with access to nearby markets are holding up best. Switzerland tops the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking not only for its internal stability, but because it trades freely with the EU next door. Singapore, too, thrives not in isolation but by anchoring itself in South-East Asia's regional economy. For Brics, the deeper challenge is coherence. In a world drifting towards bilateralism, the group's ability to act with one voice remains in doubt. These tensions are not theoretical. The Iran crisis will test its diplomatic unity. Trump's tariffs will test its economic resolve. Opec+ will test its energy coordination. The Brics summit arrives, then, with limited expectations. The real test is not the declarations made this weekend, but the degree to which these countries can shape — rather than simply react to — the emerging world order.
