In its ongoing crackdown on influencers (influencers who give out financial advice), market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) conducted search and seizure operations at the offices of a leading finfluencer on Wednesday, August 20, in Maharashtra. While the identity of the finfluencer has not been officially disclosed, MoneyControl reports that the raids were conducted at trade and market influencer Avadhut Sathe’s academy in Karjat.The report quotes sources as saying that SEBI officials, led by the SEBI deputy general manager, knocked on Sathe’s door in the early hours of August 20. It is believed that Sathe had been under SEBI’s scanner for months and that the search and seizure operation had been in the plans for a while.Sources tell MoneyControl that the operations stretched on till the evening of Thursday, August 21, and have resulted in trading data and digital devices being seized for forensic analysis.
Officials had also reportedly sought court approvals in advance, conducted reconnaissance, and tracked movement patterns before executing the operation.Sathe runs the Karjat Trading Academy and has a wide following among retail investors. His YouTube channel has around 9.36 lakh subscribers.
Later in the day, at a FICCI event, SEBI’s whole-time member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney confirmed to CNBC-TV18 that the regulator had carried out “a big search operation on a big name in this industry.” While Varshney did not name Sathe, he said the action on the “big name” was taken to send a signal that the regulator is intensifying its enforcement against influencers who misguide retail traders. did not disclose details of the raid.One of the angles SEBI is expected to investigate is whether the finfluencer or his associates pushed penny stocks after colluding with operators. One possible modus operandi is that prices of such stocks were articulated and pushed higher by them being mentioned as examples of chart patterns and strategies in classrooms.Varshney said SEBI is determined to safeguard investor interests and ensure the youth who are looking to participate in the capital markets are not misguided in the name of education or taken in by the promise of guaranteed returns. It is also stringently enforcing its finfluencer and stock market investment advisor rules, which mandate that one must be registered with SEBI to offer such advice.CNBC-TV18 has reached out to SEBI and Sathe for comments on this story. This copy will be updated as and when more official details are available.(Edited by : Arvind Sukumar)First Published: Aug 22, 2025 7:39 AM IST
