Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday banned popular financial influencer Avadhut Sathe and his company Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTAPL) from the securities market. SEBI also ordered them to jointly pay back Rs 601 crore, which he allegedly earned through unregistered investment advisory activity by misleading 3.37 lakh investors, reported Economic Times. The amount also included interest.
SEBI's order also asked Sathe to immediately stop giving investment advice or any research services, reported The Financial Express. The financial influencer and his company's bank and demat accounts will be frozen. Limits will be placed on these accounts on any kind of withdrawals or transactions.
As per the regulator, ASTA and its promoters collected over Rs 601 crore from more than 3.37 lakh investors through their training courses. SEBI ordered to freeze his accounts worth Rs 546 crore, reported The Financial Express. Notably, this amount is reportedly considered to be the earnings from these unregistered activities.
In one example, SEBI shows Sathe conducting a live trading session where the financial influencer told participants to enter a Bank Nifty futures trade at a particular price, along with the stop-loss and target, reported India Today.
"The activities of the notices were not limited to general training. They were providing specific advice with entry and exit points. Such conduct is characteristic of an investment adviser, not an educator," SEBI order stated.
SEBI alleged that Sathe and his team instructed participants on real trades using private WhatsApp groups to give instructions. The regulator also alleged that Sathe and his company used screenshots of profitable trades to promote their courses and hide losses.
"The notices repeatedly displayed only favourable outcomes to prospective clients. This conduct is misleading and intended to induce them to subscribe to the programmes," SEBI said as quoted by India Today.
Sathe received a formal warning from SEBI last year. As per the regulator, the financial influencer continued these practices even after getting the warning.
As per the India Today report, ASTA offered training programmes from basic to advanced levels, ranging up to Rs 6.75 lakh per person.
ASTA Issues Statement Denying Charges:
Reacting to SEBI allegations, ASTA issued a statement. The institute has denied all allegations mentioned in SEBI’s order, stating it is purely a training institution focused on financial market skill-building.
ASTA said it neither provides stock recommendations nor offers investment advisory or research services and therefore should not fall under RA or IA regulations.
The academy added it does not monetise its YouTube or social media platforms and has made no unlawful gains. Calling itself a victim of regulatory ambiguity, ASTA said it will challenge the order legally and expressed full faith in the judicial process.
