SEBI impounded ₹546 crore from finfluencer Avadhut Sathe's unregistered trading academy

In a 125-page ex-parte interim order on 4 December 2025, SEBI barred Avadhut Sathe, his academy Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy Pvt Ltd (ASTAPL) and director Gouri Sathe from the securities market. The regulator said the academy collected over ₹601 crore from more than 3.37 lakh investors through courses while actually providing investment advisory and research analyst services without registration.

SEBI's investigation covered July 2017 to October 2025 and followed a March 2024 administrative warning for misleading promotions. It found live classes using real market data with stock picks, targets and stop-losses, paid WhatsApp mentorship groups with fees up to ₹6.75 lakh, and selective YouTube testimonials of profitable trades — practices that lured students, some of whom were encouraged to take loans to pay fees.

SEBI directed impounding of ₹546.16 crore as prima facie unlawful gains, jointly and severally against the academy and Sathe, froze bank and demat debits, and required the amount be placed in lien-marked fixed deposits. The academy denied wrongdoing, calling itself a training institution and a 'victim of regulatory vacuum', and said it would challenge the order.

₹546.16 crore impounded as unlawful gains out of ₹601.37 crore collected; SAT cut the deposit to ₹100 crore pending final adjudication

The academy gave stock-specific advice, targets and stop-losses in live classes and paid WhatsApp groups while presenting the work as education

SEBI had warned it in March 2024, but the misleading promotions and advice continued, showing the warning was treated as a cost of doing business

Marketing that showcased only winners and promised consistent trading profits induced ordinary retail investors to pay course fees, some funded by loans

Fees flowed to the academy and its founder, leaving a clear trail — ₹601.37 crore — for SEBI to impound as unlawful gains

Calling paid stock tips 'education' does not make them legal — anyone giving advice or research for money must register, and regulators will trace fees, WhatsApp groups and live sessions to prove it.

The academy appealed to SAT, which on 22 January 2026 upheld SEBI's prima facie case — noting a clip of live Power Finance Corporation data screened in class — but cut the required deposit from ₹546.17 crore to ₹100 crore and lifted the market and account freezes once it was paid. In March 2026 the Supreme Court declined to interfere while allowing ₹2.25 crore a month for operating expenses. SEBI's final adjudication is still pending.