Business · India Bureau
Sebi orders ₹546 crore refund from Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy
India's markets regulator has directed Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy and its founder to return over half a billion rupees collected from investors for unauthorized financial advisory services. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has also imposed penalties totalling ₹11.5 crore and barred the academy from securities market operations for two years.
LSN India ·
Sebi's enforcement action against Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy Pvt Ltd (ASTAPL) and founder Avadhut Sathe covers refunds totalling ₹546.17 crore that were collected from programme participants, along with accrued interest of ₹67.87 crore. The regulator's 171-page final order details violations spanning unregistered investment advisory and research analyst services.
The regulatory penalties were distributed among multiple respondents: the academy faces a ₹6 crore fine, Sathe has been penalized ₹4 crore, and Gouri Avadhut Sathe faces a ₹1.5 crore penalty. In addition to the financial sanctions, the academy and its founder face a two-year market access restriction that will remain in force until all refunds have been completed.
Sebi's investigation found that the academy offered investment advice and trading recommendations through subscription-based programmes, webinar sessions, and private WhatsApp groups without holding the mandatory registration required from investment advisers and research analysts. The regulator determined that participants were charged fees for these unregistered services, which violated securities market regulations.
The enforcement action underscores Sebi's continued focus on unauthorised financial advisory operations targeting retail investors. The refund directive represents one of the larger recovery orders issued by the regulator in recent years against unlicensed trading education and advisory platforms.