SEBI orders Avadhut Sathe’s trading academy to refund over ₹546 crore and imposes penalties

SEBI ordered Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy Private Limited and its founder to return ₹546.17 crore collected from participants for unregistered advisory and research services, plus ₹67.87 crore in interest. The regulator also slapped a total penalty of ₹11.5 crore on the academy, Sathe and his wife Gouri Avadhut Sathe, with individual fines of ₹4 crore and ₹1.5 crore respectively. SEBI barred the academy and Sathe from the securities market for two years or until all refunds are completed, and set a five‑month deadline to finish the repayment. Sathe must publish newspaper notices within 30 days explaining how investors can claim refunds. The order noted that the academy had collected about ₹601.38 crore since it began, but only ₹546.17 crore was linked to the programmes that violated regulations. SEBI’s investigation found that paid seminars, sessions and WhatsApp groups offered investment advice without the required registration, used misleading return claims, and did not assess suitability for participants. The academy operates in several cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Indore and Nashik, and runs programmes such as eye‑opener sessions, Geo Program, SMM and PAPA. ## Context SEBI is India’s market watchdog that ensures advisors are registered and that investors receive fair, transparent information. Unregistered advice can expose retail investors to high risk and market distortions, prompting strict enforcement actions like this one.