Sebi orders Avadhut Sathe, academy to refund Rs 546 crore

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy and its finfluencer founder, Avadhut Sathe, to refund ₹546.18 crore collected from investors after finding that they had provided unregistered investment advisory and research analyst services under the guise of stock market education.

In its final order on Friday, the regulator barred the academy and Sathe from accessing the securities market for two years or until they comply with the refund directions, whichever is later. Gouri Sathe, Sathe's wife, has been barred from the securities market for six months.

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Sebi said its investigation found that the academy and Sathe provided securities-specific recommendations, entry and exit levels, stop-loss targets and trading strategies through training sessions and WhatsApp groups. The regulator said these activities went beyond stock market education and constituted investment advisory and research analyst services requiring registration with Sebi.

The regulator said the academy and Sathe circulated misleading testimonials and promotional videos highlighting profitable trades by course participants while concealing their overall trading losses. Sebi said this continued despite an administrative warning issued on March 1, 2024, cautioning them against misrepresentation and selective disclosure of trading performance.

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Sebi said the academy and Sathe collected ₹601.37 crore from course participants since inception. The regulator rejected the academy's argument that the programmes were purely educational and that the fees could not be treated as income from unregistered advisory services.

The regulator directed the academy and Avadhut Sathe to jointly refund ₹546.18 crore within five months of receiving the order. They have also been directed to deposit ₹67.87 crore as interest with Sebi's Investor Protection and Education Fund. The interest was calculated at 12% per annum from October 10, 2025, to the date of the order.

Sebi imposed a penalty of ₹6 crore on the academy, ₹4 crore on Avadhut Sathe and ₹1.5 crore on Gouri Sathe.