In its strongest action yet against a financial influencer, Sebi has barred Avadhut Sathe, founder of the Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTA), from the securities market and ordered the impounding of Rs 546 crore.

The regulator said this money was collected through unregistered investment advisory activity that misled thousands of retail investors.

The order, issued on December 4, marks a turning point in Sebi’s push to clean up the finfluencer ecosystem, where many online trainers claim to offer education but end up giving specific stock tips, guidance and live trading calls without any regulatory licence.

HOW THE CASE CAME TO SEBI’S ATTENTION

The Sebi investigation began after complaints that Sathe’s academy was not just offering trading courses but also giving out buy and sell ca

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