Avadhut Sathe, the founder of Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTA), is facing SEBI’s toughest action yet against a finfluencer, following allegations of inflating profit claims and offering unregistered investment advice. The regulator has impounded ₹546 crore in alleged illegal gains, while revealing that Sathe and his academy collectively lost over ₹6 crore in trading activities between FY24 and FY25.

Sathe, who began his market journey in 1991 and launched ASTA in 2015, promised to create “one lakh crorepatis by 2031,” attracting thousands of retail traders to his courses. ASTA’s sprawling network included over 200 Satsang Centres, 600 leaders and monitors across India and abroad, and a massive online following with 933,000 YouTube subscribers and 215,000 Instagram followers. Monthly “Mahasatsang” events highlighted dramatic success stories, often showcasing participants allegedly earning crores.

SEBI’s interim order describes ASTA functioning less as a training institute and more like a live advisory platform. Recordings cited by the regulator revealed Sathe providing real-time stock recommendations, entry and exit points, stop losses, and price targets, which participants confirmed acting upon. The regulator stated that these sessions effectively constituted unregistered investment advisory services.

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Financial records reviewed by SEBI painted a starkly different picture from the academy’s claims. Of 186 participants tracked, 65% suffered losses totaling ₹1.93 crore within six months. ASTA itself lost ₹1.89 crore, while Sathe personally lost ₹4.31 crore. SEBI also found that the academy often exaggerated participant earnings; one homemaker touted as earning ₹1 crore had actually made only ₹4.17 lakh.

ASTA has strongly denied wrongdoing, maintaining that its operations are strictly educational. The academy argued that all trading discussions were meant for conceptual clarity and not actionable advice, rejecting the label of “finfluencer” and asserting that its social media platforms are not monetized. “The order will be challenged, and we have full faith in the legal and judicial framework,” said an ASTA spokesperson.

The SEBI action follows a prior warning issued in March 2024 and highlights the increasing regulatory scrutiny on financial education platforms that blur the line between training and advisory services. With ₹546 crore impounded and a high-profile crackdown underway, the case serves as a cautionary tale for retail investors and trading influencers alike.

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