Pune-based finfluencer Avadhut Sathe is facing intense regulatory action after Sebi barred his Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTA) from operating in the securities market. The ban follows months of investigation into the academy’s operations, culminating in a search-and-seizure operation at its Karjat campus on August 20 as part of the regulator’s crackdown on unregistered financial influencers.
Sathe, who began trading in 1991 and later built one of the country’s largest market-training networks, has seen his rapid rise come under scrutiny after Sebi concluded that ASTA was running an unregistered investment advisory business under the guise of education. With more than 9 lakh YouTube subscribers and a vast offline footprint across 17 cities, Sathe positioned ASTA as a trading and psychology-based learning platform. However, the regulator found that this model went beyond training and crossed into advisory activity that requires a licence under SEBI regulations.
According to Sebi’s interim order, ASTA collected large sums of money from the public by selling high-priced “educational programmes” that actually included actionable stock recommendations, live trading sessions, market calls, and paid WhatsApp groups. The regulator said investors were misled through selective performance claims, suggestions of assured returns, and implied promises of success — practices that are prohibited for advisory businesses. It concluded that the programmes amounted to offering investment advice without registration.
Based on its findings, Sebi barred Sathe and entities linked to him from accessing the securities market and ordered the impounding of ₹546 crore classified as “alleged illegal gains” connected to the unregistered activity. The interim order is part of a wider push to regulate finfluencers who teach trading online but offer de facto advisory services without compliance. Final directions will follow after further proceedings in the case.
