Investing

Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy: SEBI orders ₹546 crore refund, how to claim

On 23 October 2026 SEBI ordered Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy and its founder to refund ₹546.17 crore of course fees. Who can claim and when.

By Saifu team · 25 October 2026 · 4 min read · Reviewed by Chandan Kumar Dash

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has passed a final order against Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy Private Limited (ASTAPL), its founder Avadhut Sathe and director Gouri Avadhut Sathe. If you paid for one of the academy's courses, you may be able to get your fees back. Here is what the order says and what to expect.

What SEBI decided

The order was signed on 23 October 2026 by SEBI's quasi-judicial authority. It follows an interim order of 4 December 2025, when SEBI first stopped the business and impounded about ₹546 crore.

SEBI found that the academy and Avadhut Sathe went beyond teaching. Through paid programmes, sessions and WhatsApp groups they gave advice on specific shares, trading calls and price direction, which only a SEBI-registered investment adviser or research analyst may give for a fee. SEBI also found that the academy published videos of selected profitable trades by participants, while the trainers and participants were in fact in net losses. It had warned the academy about this on 1 March 2024.

The main directions are:

Refund: the academy and Avadhut Sathe must refund ₹546.17 crore collected as fees for these activities, within five months from the date they receive the order. The money must go into a dedicated bank account and refunds will be paid from it.
Interest: they must also deposit ₹67.87 crore as interest, worked out at 12% a year from 10 October 2025. This interest goes to SEBI's Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF), not to participants.
Market ban: the academy and Avadhut Sathe cannot buy, sell or deal in securities for two years from 23 October 2026, or until they finish the refunds, whichever is later. Gouri Avadhut Sathe is barred for six months.
Penalty: a total of ₹11.5 crore. ₹6 crore on the academy, ₹4 crore on Avadhut Sathe and ₹1.5 crore on Gouri Avadhut Sathe, to be paid within 45 days.
Stop the advice: they must stop giving unregistered investment advice or research calls.

Their bank accounts stay frozen for debits until the full amount is deposited, and they cannot sell their assets, shares or mutual funds except to pay the refunds.

According to the order as reported by PTI, the academy collected about ₹601.38 crore from course participants since it started. SEBI identified ₹546.17 crore as fees from the programmes linked to the unregistered advice, so that is the amount to be refunded.

How the refund will work

SEBI has not asked participants to apply to SEBI. The order puts the job on the academy:

Public notice within 30 days. Within 30 days of receiving the order, the academy and Avadhut Sathe must publish a notice in all editions of two national newspapers (one English, one Hindi) and in one widely read local language newspaper. The notice must explain how to claim a refund and give a contact person's name, address and phone details.
Payment by bank transfer only. Refunds must be paid by electronic transfer or another banking channel with an audit trail. No cash.
Unclaimed money. Anything left after the refunds is deposited with SEBI and kept in an escrow account for one year for clients and complainants who used the services. After that it goes to the IPEF.
Completion report. Within 30 days of finishing the refunds, they must file a report with SEBI certified by a peer reviewed chartered accountant.

What participants can do now

Keep your proof of payment. Save receipts, bank or UPI statements, invoices and course emails that show how much you paid and when.
Watch for the newspaper notice. It should appear within about a month of the academy receiving the order. The claim process will come from that notice.
Be careful of refund agents. You should not need to pay anyone to file a claim. Do not share OTPs, UPI PINs or bank passwords with people who call offering to speed up your refund.
The order may be appealed. The academy can challenge the order before the Securities Appellate Tribunal. An appeal could change the timeline.

What this means for other finfluencer courses

SEBI's message is that calling something "education" does not make it legal if it gives buy or sell calls, entry and exit levels or stop losses on specific shares for a fee. Before paying for a trading course or joining a paid tips group, check whether the person is registered on SEBI's list of intermediaries. On 22 October 2026 SEBI also warned about stock tips in invitation-only WhatsApp groups.

Saifu is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser and this is not investment advice. Investments in shares are subject to market risk.

Sources: SEBI: Final order in the matter of Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy Private Limited, 23 October 2026, BSE: Notice 20261023-46 on the SEBI order, 23 October 2026, Business Standard (PTI): SEBI orders Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy to refund ₹546 crore, 23 October 2026, Moneycontrol: SEBI orders refund of ₹546 crore, 23 October 2026.

Rules, rates and limits change. Check the official source linked above before you rely on a figure here. Posts never contain referral or affiliate links from the writer.

Want to write for Saifu? Here is how.