The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has barred financial influencer Avadhut Sathe and his wife Gouri Sathe from the securities market and ordered the impounding of ₹546.16 crore, after finding that their equity training venture — Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTAPL) — went beyond education and provided unregistered investment advice.
The amount, collected as training fees, is to be placed in fixed deposits under a lien to Sebi. The couple have also been restrained from offering investment advisory, research analyst services, or related training activities until further orders.
What did SEBI’s investigation uncover?
Sebi’s investigation found that ASTAPL had collected around ₹600 crore from nearly four lakh participants for its “basic to uber” training programmes. A detailed probe revealed that 65% of students incurred net losses even after completing the courses.
Legal experts said the academy’s education-based positioning allowed it to evade regulatory scrutiny while effectively engaging in advisory activities that require IA/RA registration. “It is pertinent to note that Sebi had issued an administrative warning earlier, but the platform continued operating with similar structures, shifting more activity into private channels,” said Abhiraj Arora, Partner, Saraf and Partners.
Sebi’s deeper investigation — which reviewed video sessions, WhatsApp chats, trade examples, and marketing material — concluded that Sathe was giving specific buy/sell calls, stop-loss levels, and option strategies, all of which violate advisory regulations.
Sathes to refund ₹13.99 crore
The regulator also ordered the Sathes to refund ₹13.99 crore to certain participants, observing that ASTAPL and its founders pose a “systemic risk to retail investors” due to their wide influence, large enrolments, and hefty fees.
In some recent public speeches, Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey had hinted at probes into “large fake influencers” misleading retail investors — the ASTAPL case appears to fall squarely in that category.
Experts said the firm’s scale and the “education” label made it harder to detect the advisory nature of its activities. “Illegal practices may have taken place in closed-door sessions and private groups, invisible to Sebi’s regular monitoring,” one expert said.
For investors, this case serves as a reminder that social media popularity should not be mistaken for regulatory compliance or expertise, Arora noted. “The boundary between financial education and financial service cannot be blurred,” he added.
ASTAPL, headquartered in Mumbai’s Mulund West, operates from Flying Colors Premises Co-op Society on Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Marg. It also runs a residential training facility in Karjat and has regional offices in Pune, Bengaluru, Indore, Kochi, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
The impounding covers fees collected for training programmes between January 2020 and October 2025. ASTAPL has denied Sebi’s allegations.
