Avadhut Sathe case: Sebi Chair rejects finfluencer’s 'regulatory vacuum' claim

Sebi chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey pushed back against the Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy’s claim of a “regulatory vacuum,” asserting that rules governing investment advice are neither ambiguous nor open to interpretation.

Speaking at an NSE event on Monday, Pandey said the confusion lay not in the regulations but in how they were being interpreted. “There is no regulatory vacuum. There is a lack of understanding because the regulations are clear. You cannot give stock-tip advice,” he said while addressing concerns around the surge of unregistered advisory activity in the market.

Pandey’s remarks come days after SEBI passed a hard-hitting order against finfluencer Avadhut Sathe and his firm, Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy Pvt. Ltd. (ASTAPL). The regulator barred Sathe from the securities market and impounded Rs 546.16 crore, calling it “prima facie unlawful gains.” Banks were instructed to freeze all debit transactions from accounts linked to Sathe and other notices, allowing transfers only into lien-marked fixed deposits.

The order triggered a sharp response from ASTA, which claimed it was “a victim of a regulatory vacuum” and argued that it neither provides stock tips nor actionable recommendations. The academy maintained that its market illustrations were used only to offer “conceptual clarity” during sessions and insisted that it fell outside the scope of both research analyst and investment adviser regulations. It also announced plans to challenge the order.

Sebi’s investigation, however, found the academy functioning far beyond the remit of a training institute. During a search operation at ASTA’s premises in August, officials said they observed “live trading rooms” where participants were given actionable intraday cues, including buy and sell levels, stop losses, resistance points and strategy-led entries. According to the probe, several students executed trades in real time based directly on Sathe’s instructions.

The regulator also examined the trading outcomes of 311 trainees who paid Rs 6.75 lakh each for ASTA’s flagship mentorship programme. Over a six-month period, 186 participants collectively lost Rs 1.93 crore. ASTA itself reported losses of over Rs 1.89 crore, while Sathe personally incurred trading losses of Rs 4.31 crore across FY24 to FY26. The findings, Sebi said, weakened ASTA’s argument that its programmes were strictly educational.

Pandey added that the misuse of live market data under the banner of education was a matter of concern. “Live data should not be used at all for educational purposes,” he said, cautioning that training platforms must not cross into advisory territory.