# SEBI bans JPMorgan unit, broker over closing auction manipulation 2026-08-21T15:47:27+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Markets regulator SEBI has barred Copthall Mauritius Investment Ltd., a JPMorgan affiliate, and Mansi Share and Stock Broking Ltd. from the capital markets for alleged manipulation of the new Closing Auction System (CAS) on August 13. The interim order, passed within six days, requires the entities to return combined wrongful gains of Rs 3.67 crore. Former SEBI board member Ashwani Bhatia called the speed unprecedented, saying the regulator had to act early as the system's adjustment has not been smooth. The CAS, introduced on August 3 for F&O stocks, determines closing prices through a 20-minute auction from 3:15 pm to 3:35 pm. SEBI alleged Copthall and Mansi placed and cancelled orders near the upper price band to influence the BSE Sensex indicative equilibrium price while benefiting from Sensex options positions. The Economic Times reports that thin liquidity under CAS has led to a 14% drop in BSE index option premium volumes to Rs 15,600 crore, with retail traders even declaring a boycott on August 12. SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has said the system is here to stay but changes may be considered. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Times Now led with SEBI's swift action as a strong deterrent, quoting former board members praising the speed. The Economic Times focused on market chaos and liquidity decline, highlighting retail trader boycotts and Nuvama's data showing falling volumes. The pro-regulator framing overstates the system's stability, the market-disruption framing underplays that SEBI's quick enforcement shows the mechanism's surveillance advantage. Measured reading: the CAS has teething problems but the regulator's rapid intervention suggests it can police the new window effectively. Watch for BSE's October 4 board meeting on potential tweaks. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 pro-government, 1 government-critical - timesnownews.com (pro government) Leads with SEBI's swift action as unprecedented and a deterrent, quotes former board members praising the speed - economictimes.indiatimes.com (government critical) Foregrounds market chaos, liquidity spiral, retail boycott, mentions manipulation only after detailing system failures This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-22T13:11:03+00:00. Tags: BSE Sensex, Copthall Mauritius, JPMorgan, SEBI, Tuhin Kanta Pandey Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sebi-bars-jpmorgan-unit-broker-in-6-days-over-cas-manipulation/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sebi-bars-jpmorgan-unit-broker-in-6-days-over-cas-manipulation/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/