ETNow, citing sources, said Sebi officials conducted a search-and-seizure operation on August 20 at Sathe’s Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTA), seizing digital devices and trading data. The regulator’s action followed complaints that penny stocks were being promoted during his training sessions, allegedly presented as classroom examples while encouraging students to invest.
A long-prepared raid
According to reports, Sebi’s raid at the Karjat academy was led by a deputy general manager and had been long in preparation. The regulator has in recent months intensified its scrutiny of unregistered finfluencers and trading coaches, many of whom promote courses that hint at assured returns or unlicensed advisory.The action against Sathe marks one of Sebi’s most high-profile moves against the fast-growing industry of online trading educators. ETNow said the raid signals a stronger enforcement drive against market misguidance.
Finfluencer under scanner
Sathe, 52, is among India’s most prominent trading coaches, known for combining technical analysis with theatrics, like breaking into dance mid-lecture while pointing at charts on giant screens, and urging students to join him on stage. Over the years, he has trained more than 18,000 participants, many from middle-class backgrounds, offering courses in Hindi, Marathi and English.The flamboyant market coach, who is an engineer by qualification and a trader by passion, Sathe has positioned trading as both a livelihood and a form of national pride. He often describes the global financial system as a battlefield. “There are financial wars being fought in the information arena where trading can be one’s biggest weapon,” he told The Economics Times earlier this year.
From chawl to trading stage
Raised in a Dadar chawl before moving to Mulund, Sathe began his career as a software engineer, working at Hexaware Technologies and later abroad in Singapore, Australia and the U.S. He quit his IT career in 2007 to focus on trading and teaching full-time.
From a modest seminar in 2008 attended by 12 people, Sathe grew ASTA into one of the largest retail trading schools in India. His courses, priced around Rs 18,000 per module, combine live trades, mentorship and team-based learning. His YouTube channel, with 9.36 lakh subscribers, has amplified his reach far beyond classroom walls.
Growing regulatory heat
But with popularity has come scrutiny. Sebi has warned repeatedly against unregistered financial educators luring investors with claims of easy profits. The regulator’s latest move suggests it is willing to back those warnings with enforcement.
With Sebi tightening oversight, Sathe, who turned trading lessons into Bollywood-style stagecraft, now faces his toughest market test yet.
Also read | Meet Avadhut Sathe — the man on a mission to make every Indian wealthy via stock trading
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