Leaked CERC order lets eight traders take ₹173 crore off IEX before the stock crashes

On July 23, 2025, CERC issued directions to implement market coupling, which centralises price matching across power exchanges and undercuts IEX's position as the dominant venue for price discovery. The announcement hit IEX hard: its share price fell 29.58% the next day, from ₹187.89 to ₹132.32, while put-option volume jumped from about 3,000 to over 65,000 contracts.

SEBI, investigating suo motu, found eight individuals — two linked families plus associates, connected to CERC officials — had built large positions in IEX put options between July 21 and 23, before the order was public. A 45-page interim order on October 15, 2025 barred the eight from the securities market and directed that illegal gains of ₹173.14 crore be impounded.

Search-and-seizure operations from September 18–20, 2025 recovered internal CERC meeting documents and WhatsApp messages showing the draft order had been leaked. None of the accused had traded IEX derivatives before July 2025; their concentrated, well-timed positions were the signature SEBI said made the scheme obvious.

₹173.14 crore in illegal trading gains impounded; IEX shares fell 29.58% in one day (₹187.89 to ₹132.32)

Confidential regulatory decisions are market-moving information; without strict information controls, a leak becomes an insider-trading scheme.

The traders exploited IEX's structural vulnerability: a single policy decision could wipe out its pricing dominance.

Small family-and-associate networks are hard to spot unless regulators trace relationships, devices, and WhatsApp groups.

Impounding gains before they can be moved is what turns a probe into a deterrent.

Regulatory information is price-sensitive the moment it exists; a leak turns a policy decision into insider profit, and the exchange whose market it hits pays in stock price and trust.

SEBI ordered the gains deposited into interest-bearing accounts with a lien in its favour and kept the ban in force until recovery was complete. Its investigation continued into CERC officials and related entities. For IEX, the episode underscored how much of its value sat on one regulatory regime — and how exposed its stock was to policy risk.