National Stock Exchange of India

Circular
Department: Investigation

Download Ref No: NSE/INVG/60809 Date: February 21, 2024

Circular Ref. No: 283/2024

To All NSE Members,

Sub: SEBI Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr.
Santhoshkumar Ravi.

This is with reference to in respect of SEBI Order No. QJA/AA/SRO/SRO/30035/2023-24 dated

February 21, 2024, wherein SEBI has restrained following entity from accessing the securities
market, directly or indirectly and is prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in the
securities market, directly or indirectly in any manner whatsoever, for a period of 6 months from
the date of this order or till the expiry of 6 months from the date of completion of refunds to
complainants/ investors as directed in paragraph 32 (a) above SEBI order, whichever is later.

Sr. no. Name of the entity PAN

Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi IULPS5334A
1.
B4Trading Tamil

Further, SEBI has vide above order has directed that, If the above Noticees have any open position
in any exchange traded derivative contracts, as on the date of the order, they can close out /square
off such open positions within 3 months from the date of order or at the expiry of such contracts,
whichever is earlier.

The order comes into force with immediate effect.

The detailed order is available on SEBI website (http://www.sebi.gov.in).

Further, the consolidated list of such entities is available on the Exchange website
http://www.nseindia.com home page at the below mentioned link:
National Stock Exchange of India
https://www.nseindia.com/regulations/member-sebi-debarred-entities

Members are advised to take note of the above and ensure compliance.

In case of any further queries, members are requested to email us at [email protected]

For and on behalf of

National Stock Exchange of India Limited

Sandesh Sawant
Senior Manager

ANNEXURE: SEBI Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr.
Santhoshkumar Ravi
 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

QJA/AA/SRO/SRO/30035/2023-24
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA
ORDER
UNDER SECTIONS 11(1), 11(4), 11(4A), 11B(1) AND 11B(2) OF THE SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA ACT, 1992 READ WITH REGULATION 3(1)
OF THE SEBI (INVESTMENT ADVISERS) REGULATIONS, 2013

In respect of:

Name of Noticee PAN

Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi IULPS5334A
B4Trading Tamil

In the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

1. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (hereinafter referred to as “SEBI”) received a
reference from Mr. Ravirajan (hereinafter referred to as “Complainant”) on February 12,
2023 in respect of services offered by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi (hereinafter referred to as
“Noticee”) through YouTube/Telegram/Instagram channel in the name of B4Trading
Tamil (hereinafter referred to as “B4TT”). Upon examining the reference, the Complainant
was requested to provide substantiating evidence available including details of services
availed by him, proof of payment made etc., to further examine the matter. The complainant
vide email dated February 16, 2023 provided details of the Noticee’s website, contact
number etc.

2. Pursuant to receipt of information shared by the Complainant, SEBI conducted further

examination into the activities of the Noticee to ascertain the veracity of the reference
received and to determine whether there has been any contravention of provisions of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (hereinafter referred to as “SEBI Act”),
the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Investment Advisor) Regulations, 2013
(hereinafter referred to as “IA Regulations, 2013”), the Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market)

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

Regulations, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as “PFUTP Regulations”) and any other Rules
or Regulations made thereunder, by the Noticee.

3. Based on the examination, it has been alleged that the Noticee has provided investment
advice without obtaining the requisite registration from SEBI in violation of Section 12(1)
of SEBI Act read with Regulation 3(1) of the IA Regulations, 2013. It has also been alleged
that the Noticee has acted in a reckless and careless manner thereby violating Sections
12A(a), (b) and (c) of the SEBI Act read with Regulations 3(a), (b), (c), (d), 4(1) and 4(2)
(k) of PFUTP Regulations.

SHOW CAUSE NOTICE, REPLY AND HEARING

I. Show Cause Notice

4. A Show Cause Notice dated November 28, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as “SCN”) was
issued to the Noticee calling upon it to show cause as to why suitable directions under
Sections 11(1), 11(4), 11(4A), 11B(1) and 11B(2) of the SEBI Act, 1992 including direction
of refund of fees/monies collected from the investors should not be issued against him for
the violations as alleged herein above. The Noticee was also called upon to show cause as
to why inquiry should not be held against him in terms of Rule 4 of SEBI (Procedure for
Holding Inquiry and Imposing Penalties) Rules, 1995 and penalty be not imposed under
Section 11(4A) and 11B(2) read with Sections 15EB and 15HA of the SEBI Act, 1992 for
the violations alleged herein above. The following annexures were enclosed along with the
SCN:

Table A

Annexures to SCN
Annex. Particulars
No.
1 Copy of email reference received from Mr. Ravirajan on 12.02.2023
2 Copy of email reference received from Mr. Ravirajan on 16.02.2023
3 Domain creation details downloaded from https://whois.com
4 Copy of webpages downloaded from the website
5 Copy of error message from the website
6 Copy of SEBI’s email dated 16.03.2023 sent to the Noticee
7 Reply of the Noticee received vide email dated 20.03.2023
8 Copy of Screenshot of the webpage

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

9 Copy of SEBI’s email dated 05.04.2023 sent to the Noticee

10 Reply of the Noticee received vide email dated 10.04.2023
11 Copy of KYC documents, transaction statement received from Razorpay
12 Copy of AoF, KYC documents and bank statement received from Indian Bank
13 Copy of email dated 21.04.2023 received from client/investor, Manikandan K
14 Copy of email dated 24.04.2023 received from client/investor, Jeganath R
15 Copy of email dated 15.04.2023 received from the Noticee
16 Copy of email dated 25.04.2023 received from the Noticee
17 Details of credits received in the Razorpay payment gateway account in respect
of investment advisory services
18 Details of credits received in the Indian Bank account no. 065xxxx242 in respect
of investment advisory services

5. The SCN has inter alia alleged the following:

(a) The Noticee has been operating the website <https://b4tradingtamil.in/> wherein the
following has been stated:

(i) Santhosh Ravi, Founder of B4Trading-Tamil, Technical Analyst in Stock

Market (I am not a sebi registered advisor);

(ii) Our Services: Online Course

Table 1
Sl No. Services Features Price
(Rs.)
1 B4TT 8 Videos + PDF 3070
RECORDED BASIC | PRICE ACTION |STRATEGY |
- ADVANCED
TECHNICAL OUR CLASS TOPICS
CLASSES 1. MARKET STRUCTURE
2. CANDLESTICK
3. MULTI TIMEFRAME CANDLESTICKS
4. SUPPORT AND RESISTANCE
5. CHART PATTERNS
6. CANDLESTICK PATTERN
7. VOLUME ANALYSIS
8. BREAKOUT TRADING STRATEGY
9. DAY TRADING STRATEGY
10. BTST TRADING STRATEGY
11. FUTURES AND OPTIONS
12. OPTION CHAIN ANALYSIS
13. RISK MANAGEMENT
14. B4TRADING CHECKBOX

(iii) ₹FREE: OPEN DEMAT ACCOUNT VIA OUR LINK ANGEL ONE UPSTOX
PROFIT MART

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(iv) If You Want My Premium Services, then Open a Account Using my Referral
Links and Join our Classes. You will get Premium Services lifetime for FREE*
 FREE AMC CHARGES
 FREE ACCOUNT OPENING CHARGES
 20RS PER TRADE IN ALL SEGMENTS
 NO HIDDEN CHARGES

(v) Login interface for “users/Clients”

(vi) Caution Ticker message: We are not SEBI registered. Before taking any
positions, please contact your financial advisor. We are not responsible for your
“PROFITS” or “LOSSES”. Whatever we are providing here is the purely
educational and information point of view.
(vii) Disclaimer: There is no guarantee of profits or no exceptions from losses. The
investment advice provided are solely the personal views of the research team.
You are advised to rely on your own judgment while making investment /
Trading decisions. Past performance is not an indicator of future returns.
Investment is subject to market risks. You should read and understand the Risk
Disclosure Documents before trading/Investing.
(viii) Follow us on: @B4Trading_Tamil Ph no. 8925711853

(b) It is observed that Noticee is the founder of B4TT and has identified himself as as Technical
Analyst in Stock Market. The website has offered recorded classes on securities market
related topics on payment of charges specified therein.
(c) Vide email dated March 16, 2023 (Annexure-6) the reference received from the
Complainant was forwarded to the Noticee and he was advised to submit the information
relating to the services offered by him through the website https://b4tradingtamil.in/ and
under the name of B4TT. He was also advised to refrain from all unregistered investment
advisory / research analysis / portfolio management or any other unregistered activity in
the securities market with immediate effect.
(d) The Noticee vide email dated March 20, 2023 inter alia made the following submissions:
(i) He is the only person involved in the operations/activities of B4TT.
(ii) Details of activities/services offered: The Noticee stated that he started one service
i.e. B4TT-BTST as per his subscriber’s requests, through which, he has claimed to be
sharing Buy Today Sell Tomorrow (hereinafter referred to as “BTST”) suggestions
about Index futures & options based on technical charts. He has stated that one of his
subscribers pointed out that this was against SEBI rules and then he has immediately
stopped that service and that currently he is not providing any BTST services.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(iii) He was also selling another service in the name of B4TT-Recorded Classes. Through
which he has claimed to be teaching technical charting experiences which is only for
learning purposes and that he has stopped the said service after SEBI’s email
regarding examination of the services offered by him.
(iv) He has not collected any client details. Based on Razorpay statement, he has gathered
payee details and submitted the same in an excel sheet. It contained the payee details
such as name, phone number, date and amount received.
(v) The details of bank account & payment gateway details used for advisory services are
as follows: Indian Bank, Branch- Mazhaiyur, A/c No. 606xxx6470; IFSC-
IDIB000Mxxx; Payment gateway – Razorpay;
(e) The “Services” tab was removed from the website https://b4tradingtamil.in/ pursuant to
SEBI’s email on March 20, 2023 to the Noticee seeking details of the services offered by
him under the name of B4TT.
(f) Vide email dated April 05, 2023, Noticee was advised to submit details of the platform on
which BTST suggestions were provided, purpose of amount collected via Razorpay
payment gateway links, credit wise purpose of amount collected in the Indian Bank account
(in addition to Razorpay) from the date of commencement of activities/services pertaining
to B4TT/ Investment Advise / BTST suggestions.
(g) Vide email dated April 10, 2023, Noticee has inter alia made his submissions and following
are noted:
(h) Noticee admitted to have provided BTST suggestions via telegram channel. He used to
share the link to join BTST group in his free telegram channel and that the same will be
deleted in few hours;
(i) He has collected fees for BTST suggestions via Razorpay payment gateway link
https://rzp.io/l/B4TT-BTSTSuggestions and the BTST fee was Rs. 1010/-. He has attached
a receipt issued to one of his client/investors in support of the same;
(j) The total amount received via Razorpay towards BTST suggestions is Rs. 29,30,140/-
(k) That around Rs. 66,000/- were received in his Indian Bank account directly towards BTST
suggestions.
(l) The details of payment gateway accounts pertaining to the Noticee and/or associated with
the website https://b4tradingtamil.in/ along with copy of KYC documents and transaction
statement were sought from Razorpay and the same were received vide emails dated March
24, 2023, April 03, 2023, April 12, 2023, May 17, 2023 and May 19, 2023.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(m) From the information received, it is observed that one account (merchant ID-
IzTnCjvssFeWjw) was activated in the name of ‘Mr. Santhosh Ravi’ on February 23, 2022.
As per the records submitted by Razorpay, the registered activity in connection with the
merchant ID- IzTnCjvssFeWjw is to offer educational material and recorded sessions of
courses / training. Razorpay disabled the Merchant ID of the Noticee on March 23, 2023.
Amounts collected by the Noticee via the said Razorpay account were transferred to him
through Razorpay in his Indian Bank account no. 606xxx6470 (IFSC-IDIB000Mxxx).
Copy of Account Opening Form (hereinafter referred to as ‘AoF’), Know Your Customer
(hereinafter referred to as ‘KYC’) documents and transaction statement pertaining to the
said account was sought from Indian Bank which submitted the information vide emails
dated March 24, 2023 and May 20, 2023.
(n) Emails were sent to clients of the Noticee on April 06, 2023 who made payments to the
Noticee’s Razorpay account (merchant ID- IzTnCjvssFeWjw) with a request to provide the
reason for the payment made to Noticee including nature of services availed. Two of such
investors/ clients replied stating that they paid Rs. 1010/- for advice related to trading in
securities.
(o) In view of the above, it is alleged that the Noticee has provided BTST suggestions and
collected fees in respect of the same. The said acts of investment advisory were carried out
by the Noticee without obtaining registration from SEBI.
(p) The Noticee is also alleged to have engaged in the activities of providing investment advice
without obtaining the requisite registration from SEBI and are alleged to be in violation of
Section 12(1) of SEBI Act read with Regulation 3(1) of the IA Regulations, 2013.
(q) The website <https://b4tradingtamil.in/> mentioned Noticee as the founder of B4TT and
identified him as a Technical Analyst in Stock Market with a disclaimer that “I am not a
SEBI registered advisor”. The website also mentioned a “Caution Ticker message: We are
not SEBI registered. Before taking any positions, please contact your financial advisor. We
are not responsible for your “PROFITS” or “LOSSES”. Whatever we are providing here
is the purely educational and information point of view”. Further, one of the payment
receipt issued to the investor who has availed advisory services from the Noticee has inter
alia mentioned “And most importantly, I am (Santhosh Kumar R) not SEBI registered
advisor”. It is alleged that despite being aware that registration from SEBI is required for
providing investment advisory services, Noticee has held himself out as an investment
adviser and rendered investment advisory services to his clients/investors without obtaining

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

certificate of registration from SEBI. By doing so, the Noticee has represented to his
clients/investors in a reckless and careless manner which is covered under the definition of
‘fraud’ under regulation 2(1) (c) of PFUTP Regulations. It is alleged that by engaging in
such fraudulent activity, the Noticee has also violated the provisions of Sections 12A(a),
(b) and (c) of the SEBI Act read with Regulations 3(a), (b), (c), (d), 4(1) and 4(2) (k) of
PFUTP Regulations.

II. Reply of the Noticee

6. The SCN dated November 28, 2023 was served on the Noticee through Speed Post and
email. The Noticee vide email dated December 18, 2023 replied that he ‘apologizes’ and
‘admits his mistakes’. He also assured that he would not engage in unauthorized investment
advisory activities henceforth. The Noticee was granted an opportunity of hearing on
January 30, 2024 which was attended by him. The Noticee was advised that he may file a
reply in his local language, if he wishes to. The Noticee filed a reply in Tamil vide email
dated February 01, 2024, the contents of which have been translated and briefly provided
as under:

(a) The Noticee realizes his mistake and apologizes for the same.
(b) The Noticee started a YouTube channel one year back to share his experience in the
stock market with others. A person who followed the Noticee’s channel suggested that
the said person would create a website under Noticee’s channel name to which he
agreed. However, the website was not created with the intention of deceiving others.
The Noticee has taken down the website now.
(c) Thereafter, one of the Noticee’s ‘followers’ contacted him and asked him to send him
the Noticee’s Support & Resistance drawing for NIFTY & BANKNIFTY as the said
investor was employed and could not track the securities market.
(d) In this manner, the BTST service was developed, however, no one was advised to buy
or sell individual shares.
(e) The Noticee informed his clients availing BTST service that he is not a SEBI registered
advisor and there is no guarantee that the Support & Resistances he draws will
necessarily make a profit and there is a 100% chance of losing their money. He also
stressed that clients should not invest money that they cannot afford to lose.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(f) Only after agreeing to the aforesaid, clients would join the BTST service.
(g) The Noticee wanted investors to benefit from his knowledge/ expertise, however, the
activity was carried out without knowing the SEBI rules and regulations.
(h) As soon as he found out that the said activity was unauthorized, he stopped providing
the service. However, a few months after he stopped the service, someone filed a
complaint against him.
(i) Even during SEBI’s examination which was prior to the issuance of the SCN, the
Noticee admitted his mistake without hiding anything from SEBI.
(j) The Noticee is 26 years old now, and got married few months ago. The Noticee’s family
depends on him.

III. Opportunity of Hearing

7. An opportunity of hearing was granted to the Noticee on January 30, 2024 which was
communicated vide letter and email dated January 05, 2024. The Noticee appeared for the
hearing virtually through WebEx. As the Noticee stated that he did not understand the
allegations stated in the SCN dated November 28, 2023, an officer of SEBI explained the
allegations in the Tamil language. Thereafter, the Noticee accepted the allegations in the
SCN and said that after he came to know that providing investment advice without
registration is not permissible as per SEBI’s norms, he stopped the activity. As the Noticee
had not filed a reply until then, he was granted one weeks’ time to file his reply. The Noticee
submitted his reply vide email dated February 01, 2024 which has been captured above.

CONSIDERATION OF ISSUES AND FINDINGS

8. I have considered the material available on record including the SCN, the annexures to the
SCN, oral and written submissions, the Noticee’s reply dated February 01, 2024 and based
on the aforesaid frame, the following issues for consideration:
Issue I Whether the Noticee acted as an unregistered Investment Advisor in
contravention of Section 12(1) of the SEBI Act and Regulation 3(1) of the IA
Regulations?
Whether the acts of the Noticee attract the prohibition under 12A(a), (b) and
Issue II
(c) of the SEBI Act read with Regulations 3(a), (b), (c), (d), 4(1) and 4(2) (k)
of PFUTP Regulations?

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

If answer to issue no. I and / or II is in the affirmative, what directions should

Issue III
be passed against the Noticee?

Issue I: Whether the Noticee acted as an unregistered Investment Advisor in contravention

of Section 12(1) of the SEBI Act and Regulation 3(1) of the IA Regulations?

9. The Complainant in his reference (Annexure 1 to SCN) has stated that the Noticee conducts
‘Live’ sessions wherein he gives trading advice/ calls. It is also stated that the Noticee is
charging Rs. 1,500/- for a 3 months’ package entailing BTST recommendations. The
payments are received through a payment gateway link. The Complainant also submitted
that Noticee has a website with the domain name <https://b4tradingtamil.in> and the link
for his YouTube Channel is <https://youtube.com/live/Mjb1LOLAB2k?feature=share>.
The Complainant has attached screenshots of the Noticee’s Telegram Channel where the
BTST suggestions were provided which are reproduced below.

Screenshot 1 Screenshot 2 Screenshot 3

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

10. I note from the SCN that SEBI had sent emails to 20 investors/ clients out of 2595
clients/investors of the Noticee on April 06, 2023 who made payments to the Noticee’s
Razorpay account (merchant ID- IzTnCjvssFeWjw) with a request to provide the reason
for the payment made to Noticee including nature of services availed. I note that replies
were received from two clients which is summarized as under:
(a) Manikandan K: The investor has transferred Rs.1010/- to Noticee through Razorpay
payment gateway on October 05, 2022. Vide email dated April 21, 2023 the client has
submitted that he has paid the said amount towards receiving Support & Resistance level
of indexes as well market view and that he does not have any documents.
(b) Jeganath R: The investor has transferred Rs.1010/- to Noticee through Razorpay
payment gateway on October 08, 2022. Vide email dated April 24, 2023 the client has
submitted that he has paid the said amount to B4TT Telegram Channel. He has stated
that the Noticee has created separate BTST Telegram Channel/group for providing
BTST calls and that the telegram channel/group has been removed and so he could not
provide any proof in respect of the same.

11. The details of payment gateway accounts pertaining to the Noticee and/or associated with
the website https://b4tradingtamil.in/ along with copy of KYC documents and transaction
statement were sought from Razorpay and the same were received vide emails dated March
24, 2023, April 03, 2023, April 12, 2023, May 17, 2023 and May 19, 2023. From the
information received, it is observed that one account bearing merchant ID-
IzTnCjvssFeWjw was activated in the name of ‘Mr. Santhosh Ravi’ on February 23, 2022.
It was also found that amounts collected by the Noticee via the said Razorpay account were
transferred to him by Razorpay in his Indian Bank account no. 606xxx6470 (IFSC-
IDIB000Mxxx). On analyzing the account statement of the account held with Indian Bank,
it was observed that multiple credit transactions therein had the terms/ narrations with
respect to investment advisory services including BTST package such as ‘BTST payment’,
‘for BTST’, ‘BTST fee’, ‘futures calls’, ‘intraday calls’, ‘trade consulting’, ‘for trade’,
‘buying stocks’, ‘trade tips’, ‘trade fees’ etc. Few of the entries are captured in the Table
below:
Table 2
Date Narration
03-Dec-19 UPI TRANSFER/933711175663/Futures calls
29-May-20 UPI TRANSFER/014921841910/Intraday calls

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

30-May-20 /IMPS/P2A/015114722102/MB: SHR TIPS

01-Jun-20 UPI TRANSFER/015307078770/June month intraday
08-Jun-20 UPI TRANSFER/016016208210/Trading consulting f
11-Jun-20 UPI TRANSFER/016310010878/For trading
01-Dec-20 /IMPS/P2A/033611157375/Buying Stocks
02-Jun-21 UPI TRANSFER/115320218853/Trade fees
14-Jan-22 UPI TRANSFER/201468332670/BTST
30-Mar-22 UPI TRANSFER/208941099501/BTST payment
30-Mar-22 UPI TRANSFER/208941648008/for btst premium gro
09-Apr-22 UPI TRANSFER/209911983867/BTST FEE
07-Jun-22 UPI TRANSFER/215825599134/for btst

12. In response to SEBI’s email dated March 16, 2023 seeking information about his
investment advisory activities, the Noticee vide email dated March 20, 2023 submitted that
he started one service namely, B4TT-BTST as per one of his subscriber’s requests through
which, he claimed to have been sharing BTST suggestions about Index futures & options
based on technical charts. He also submitted that the following bank account & payment
gateway details used for advisory services are as follows: Indian Bank, Branch- Mazhaiyur,
A/c No. 606xxx6470; IFSC- IDIB000Mxxx; Payment gateway – Razorpay.

13. I note that vide email dated April 05, 2023, SEBI sought further information from the
Noticee in the nature of platform on which BTST suggestions were provided, purpose of
amount collected via Razorpay payment gateway links, credit wise purpose of amount
collected in the Indian Bank account (in addition to Razorpay) from the date of
commencement of activities/services pertaining to B4TT/ Investment Advise / BTST
suggestions. The Noticee vide email dated April 10, 2023 (Annexure 10 to SCN) replied
stating that he provided BTST suggestions via Telegram. The Noticee also submitted that
he provided the following Razorpay link <https://rzp.io/l/B4TT-BTSTSuggestions> to his
clients via Telegram to collect fees towards BTST suggestions. In the said email, the
Noticee also provided a payment receipt issued to one of his clients, Mr. Vaidheeswaran D
in respect of Rs. 1,010/- paid by him on October 04, 2022. The said payment receipt clearly
stated the following “This is a payment receipt for your transaction on B4TT – BTST
Suggestions”. The payment receipt also informed the client of the following:

“(i) Per week, 2 or 3 suggestions will be provided,

(ii) We will provide both index options and some times stock options based on market
conditions.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(iii) You will need a minimum capital of 30,000 rupees to take a single lot in INDEX
Options, and 50,000 rupees for STOCK Options.

(iv) BTST has 100% overnight risk involved, so anything will happen.

(v) There is no guarantee of making profits.

(vi) We are not responsible for your profit and losses.

(vii) And most importantly, I am (Santosh Kumar R) not SEBI registered advisor. I will
share it based on my past share market experiences only.

(viii) BTST payment won’t be refundable.

(ix) The Plan will expire December 31, 2022.”

14. I note that during the personal hearing on January 30, 2024, the Noticee admitted that he
carried on investment advisory activities without obtaining registration from SEBI.
Thereafter in his reply dated February 01, 2024, the Noticee submitted that he started a
YouTube channel one year back to share his experience in the stock market with others. A
person who followed the Noticee’s channel suggested that the said person would create a
website under Noticee’s channel name to which he agreed. The Noticee has taken down the
website now. Thereafter, one of the Noticee’s ‘followers’ contacted him and asked him to
send him the Noticee’s Support & Resistance drawing for NIFTY & BANKNIFTY as the
said investor was employed and could not track the securities market. The Noticee
submitted that in this manner the BTST service was developed, however, no one was
advised to buy or sell individual shares, and as soon as he found out that the said activity
was unauthorized, he had stopped providing the service.

15. I note that BTST stands for Buy Today-Sell Tomorrow trades wherein the investor buys
shares on ‘T’ day and sells it on T+1 day i.e., sells before the buy trade is settled, i.e., before
the shares are delivered in his demat account and before he makes payment for his purchase
of shares. The practice can be explained with the help of the following example: if an
investor buys 10 shares of ‘X’ company on Monday, the shares will be credited to his demat
account only on Wednesday. However, he may see that the share price of the company has
increased the next day after he has bought the shares i.e. Tuesday an opportunity has arisen

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

to exit his position and make profit even before getting delivery of the shares and before
paying for the shares. So he may sell the shares on Tuesday itself.1

16. Based on the information gathered from the Noticee’s clients including the Complainant,
narrations in the bank account statement held with Indian Bank, content of the payment
receipts issued to clients and the Noticee’s own admission, I find that the Noticee was
providing trading calls in the form of BTST recommendations to his clients/ investors for
a sum of Rs. 1010/- through B4 Trading Tamil Telegram Channel. For the purpose of
collecting fees the Noticee created a unique Razorpay payment gateway link which was
shared with his clients. The Noticee also provided BTST recommendations through
YouTube live streaming. I note from regulation 2 (1)(l) of the IA Regulations that the term
“investment advice” is defined thereunder as “advice relating to investing in, purchasing,
selling or otherwise dealing in securities or investment products, and advice on investment
portfolio containing securities or investment products, whether written, oral or through any
other means of communication for the benefit of the client and shall include financial
planning.” Furthermore, regulation 2 (1)(m) of the IA Regulations defines “investment
adviser” as “any person who for consideration, is engaged in the business of providing
advice to clients or other persons or group of persons and includes any person who holds
out himself as an investment adviser, by whatever name called.” In view of the above, I
find that the BTST recommendations provided by the Noticee qualify as “investment
advice” in terms of regulation 2 (1)(l) of the IA Regulations and therefore, the Noticee was
acting as an investment adviser as per regulations 2(1)(m) of the IA Regulations.

17. I note that according to section 12 (1) of the SEBI Act and Regulation 3 (1) of the IA
Regulations, no person shall act as an investment adviser or hold himself out as an
investment adviser unless he has obtained a certificate of registration from SEBI. The said
provisions are reproduced as under:

SEBI Act, 1992

Registration of stock brokers, sub-brokers, share transfer agents, etc.
“12. (1) “No stock broker, sub-broker, share transfer agent, banker to an issue, trustee
of trust deed, registrar to an issue, merchant banker, underwriter, portfolio
manager, investment adviser and such other intermediary who may be associated

1
Interim Order no. WTM/MPB/ISD/ 166/2021 dated January 13, 2021 in the matter of CNBC Awaaz “Stock 20-
20” Show co-hosted by Mr. Hemant Ghai.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

with securities market shall buy, sell or deal in securities except under, and in
accordance with, the conditions of a certificate of registration obtained from the
Board in accordance with the regulations made under this Act… … ….”

SEBI (INVESTMENT ADVISER) REGULATIONS, 2013

Application for grant of certificate.
“3. (1) On and from the commencement of these regulations, no person shall act as
an investment adviser or hold itself out as an investment adviser unless he has
obtained a certificate of registration from the Board under these regulations:
Provided that a person acting as an investment adviser immediately before the
commencement of these regulations may continue to do so for a period of six
months from such commencement or, if it has made an application for a certificate
under sub-regulation (2) within the said period of six months, till the disposal of
such application.”

18. I note that for seeking a certificate of registration for acting as an investment adviser, an
entity is required to satisfy, inter alia, the following requirements, as provided under IA
Regulations:
(i) An application for seeking certificate of registration to be made to Local Office,
Regional Office or Head Office, of SEBI, as the case may be, in Form A as specified
in the First Schedule to IA Regulations, 2013 along with requisite non-refundable
application fee;
(ii) The applicant, in case of an individual investment adviser or its principal officer in
case of a non-individual investment adviser shall be appropriately qualified and
certified as under:
(a) A professional qualification or post-graduate degree or post graduate
diploma (minimum two years in duration) in finance, accountancy, business
management, commerce, economics, capital market, banking, insurance or
actuarial science from a university or an institution recognized by the Central
Government or any State Government or a recognized foreign university or
institution or association or a professional qualification by completing a Post
Graduate Program in the Securities Market (Investment Advisory) from NISM
of a duration not less than one year or a professional qualification by obtaining a
CFA Charter from the CFA Institute;
(b) An experience of at least five years in activities relating to advice in financial
products or securities or fund or asset or portfolio management;

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(c) Applicant in case of individual investment adviser or its principal officer in case
of a non-individual investment adviser, and persons associated with investment
advice shall have, at all times a certification on financial planning or fund or
asset or portfolio management or investment advisory services, from (a) NISM;
or (b) any other organization or institution including Financial Planning
Standards Board of India or any recognized stock exchange in India provided
such certification is accredited by NISM.
(iii) Individual applicant must have net worth of not less than 5 lakh rupees and non-
individual applicant must have net worth of not less than 50 lakh rupees.

19. I note that the safeguards provided under IA Regulations, 2013 requires continued
minimum professional qualification and net-worth requirement for investment adviser,
including disclosure of all conflict of interest, prohibition on entering into transactions
which are contrary to advice given for 15 days, risk profiling of investors, maintaining
documented process for selecting investment for client based on client’s objective and risk
profile, understanding the nature and risks of products or assets selected for clients, etc.
These requirements are aimed at protection of investor interest.

20. I note that the activities of the Noticee show that he was acting as an investment adviser.
However, the Noticee is not registered with SEBI in the capacity of an Investment Adviser.
Therefore, I find that the investment advisory activities were being carried out by the
Noticee without obtaining the necessary certificate of registration as an investment adviser
and therefore, the Noticee has violated Section 12(1) of the SEBI Act along with Regulation
3(1) of the IA Regulations.

Issue II: Whether the acts of the Noticee attract the prohibition under 12A(a), (b) and (c)
of the SEBI Act read with Regulations 3(a), (b), (c), (d), 4(1) and 4(2) (k) of PFUTP
Regulations?

21. Before proceeding further, I find it pertinent to reproduce the relevant provisions:

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

SEBI Act

“Prohibition of manipulative and deceptive devices, insider trading and substantial

acquisition of securities or control.

12A. No person shall directly or indirectly—

(a) use or employ, in connection with the issue, purchase or sale of any securities listed or
proposed to be listed on a recognized stock exchange, any manipulative or deceptive device
or contrivance in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules or the regulations
made thereunder;
(b) employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud in connection with issue or dealing in
securities which are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognised stock exchange;
(c) engage in any act, practice, course of business which operates or would operate as
fraud or deceit upon any person, in connection with the issue, dealing in securities which
are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognised stock exchange, in contravention of the
provisions of this Act or the rules or the regulations made thereunder;”

PFUTP Regulations

“2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(c)“fraud” includes any act, expression, omission or concealment committed whether in a
deceitful manner or not by a person or by any other person with his connivance or by his
agent while dealing in securities in order to induce another person or his agent to deal in
securities, whether or not there is any wrongful gain or avoidance of any loss, and shall
also include—
…
…
…
(5) a representation made in a reckless and careless manner whether it be true or false;”

“3. Prohibition of certain dealings in securities

No person shall directly or indirectly—

(a) buy, sell or otherwise deal in securities in a fraudulent manner;

(b) use or employ, in connection with issue, purchase or sale of any security listed or
proposed to be listed in a recognized stock exchange, any manipulative or deceptive
device or contrivance in contravention of the provisions of the Act or the rules or the
regulations made there under;
(c) employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud in connection with dealing in or issue
of securities which are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognized stock exchange;
(d) engage in any act, practice, course of business which operates or would operate as
fraud or deceit upon any person in connection with any dealing in or issue of securities
which are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognized stock exchange in contravention
of the provisions of the Act or the rules and the regulations made there under.

4. Prohibition of manipulative, fraudulent and unfair trade practices

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of regulation, no person shall indulge in a

manipulative, fraudulent or an unfair trade practice in securities markets.
Explanation.–For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that any act of diversion,
misutilisation or siphoning off of assets or earnings of a company whose securities are
listed or any concealment of such act or any device, scheme or artifice to manipulate the
books of accounts or financial statement of such a company that would directly or indirectly
manipulate the price of securities of that company shall be and shall always be deemed to
have been considered as manipulative, fraudulent and an unfair trade practice in the
securities market.

(2) Dealing in securities shall be deemed to be a manipulative fraudulent or an unfair

trade practice if it involves any of the following:—
(k) disseminating information or advice through any media, whether physical or
digital, which the disseminator knows to be false or misleading in a reckless or
careless manner and which is designed to, or likely to influence the decision of
investors dealing in securities;

22. The SCN has alleged that despite being aware that registration from SEBI is required for
providing investment advisory services, Noticee had rendered investment advisory services
to his clients/investors without obtaining the necessary certificate of registration from
SEBI. The Noticee in his reply dated February 01, 2024 has submitted that he wanted
investors to benefit from his knowledge/ expertise, however, the activity was carried out
without knowing the SEBI rules and regulations and that as soon as he found that the said
activity is unauthorized, he stopped providing the said service.

23. In this regard, it is pertinent to note the observations of the Hon’ble Securities Appellate
Tribunal in Ms. Suhanika Chourey v. SEBI2 wherein it was observed that apart from the
fact that the appellant therein had started an advisory business without obtaining a
registration there was no evidence which indicated that the business carried out by the
appellant was a fraudulent activity or that they played a fraud upon their clients. The
relevant extract is reproduced as under:

“We have gone through the entire order and we do not find any iota of any evidence
which would show that the business carried out by the appellant and its firm was a
fraudulent activity or that they played a fraud upon its clients. The mere fact that they
started an advisory business without obtaining a registration does not mean that a
fraudulent activity was being carried out. We also find that upon getting to know that a
registration was required the appellants stopped their business immediately and
dissolved the partnership deed. Thus, we are of the firm opinion that in the absence of

2
Appeal No.765 of 2021 (decided on January 01, 2022) available at
<https://sat.gov.in/english/pdf/E2022_JO2021765_64.PDF>.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

any evidence the charge of fraudulent activity cannot be imposed under Regulation 3
of the PFUPT read with Section 12A of the SEBI Act. Consequently, no penalty under
Section 15HA could be imposed. Section 15HA provides that penalty could be imposed
were a person indulges in fraudulent and unfair trade practices relating to securities.
In the instant case, there is no fraudulent or unfair trade practice committed by the
appellant. Consequently, no penalty under Section 15HA could be imposed.”

24. I note from the SCN that the website https://b4tradingtamil.in/ had mentioned the Noticee
as the founder of B4TT wherein he identified himself as a Technical Analyst in Stock
Market with a disclaimer that is as follows “I am not a SEBI registered advisor”. The
website mentioned a caution message which read as follows: “Caution Ticker message: We
are not SEBI registered….”. Further, one of the payment receipt issued to the investor who
had availed advisory services from the Noticee has inter alia mentioned “And most
importantly, I am (Santhosh Kumar R) not SEBI registered advisor”. I note that the Noticee
did not claim himself to be registered with SEBI thereby misleading the investors nor did
he promise any guaranteed returns.

25. In view of the above, I find the allegation that the Noticee engaged in a fraudulent activity
and thereby violated the provisions of Sections 12A(a), (b) and (c) of the SEBI Act read
with Regulations 3(a), (b), (c), (d), 4(1) and 4(2) (k) of PFUTP Regulations, is not supported
by any evidence and therefore, does not stand established.

Issue III: If answer to issue no. I and/ or II is in the affirmative, what directions should be
passed against the Noticee?

26. I note from the SCN that an amount of Rs.29,99,647 has been collected as fees by Noticee
during the period from December 03, 2019 to October 08, 2022 towards investment
advisory services. The details of fees collected are summarised below:

Table 3: Fees collected

Transaction Mode Particulars No. of credit Identified

Period# transactions Amount
(in ₹)
30.03.2022 to Razorpay Credits received in respect of BTST 2912 29,30,140
08.10.2022 Suggestions
03.12.2019 to Indian Credits received in a/c no. 606xxx6470 44 69,507
08.10.2022 Bank with narrations related to investment

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

advice/BTST or matching with fee

amount specified for BTST package.
Total 2,956 29,99,647
‘#’- The transaction period is from the date of first credit identified as amount collected towards
investment advisory services till the date of last credit transaction in the account identified as
amount collected towards investment advisory services

27. In view of the above, I note that the Noticee has provided unregistered investment advisory
services and collected a sum of Rs. 29,99,647/- towards fees during the period from
December 03, 2019 to October 08, 2022 from investors. The Noticee vide emails dated
April 10, 2023 and April 25, 2023 has admitted that he has provided investment advice and
collected fees of Rs. 29,96,174/- (i.e. a difference of Rs. 3,473/-) in respect of the same via
Razorpay as well as by way of direct credits in his Indian Bank account. However, in his
reply to the SCN the Noticee has not disputed the amount stated in the SCN. Therefore, I
note that an amount of Rs. 29,99,647/- is liable to be refunded by the Noticee to the
respective clients availing BTST services from him.

28. The SCN also calls upon the Noticee to explain as to why appropriate penalty be not
imposed upon him under Section 15EB of the SEBI Act, 1992 for the violations alleged in
the SCN. The relevant extract of Section 15EB of the SEBI Act, 1992, is reproduced,
hereunder:

“Penalty for default in case of investment adviser and research analyst.

15EB. Where an investment adviser or a research analyst fails to comply with the
regulations made by the Board or directions issued by the Board, such investment
adviser or research analyst shall be liable to penalty which shall not be less than one
lakh rupees but which may extend to one lakh rupees for each day during which such
failure continues subject to a maximum of one crore rupees.”

29. I note it has been clearly established in the preceding paragraphs that the Noticee has acted
as an investment adviser without obtaining a certificate of registration from SEBI has been
and therefore, violated Regulation 3(1) of the IA Regulations read with Section 12 of the
SEBI Act. In view of the same, I find that the penalty under Section 15EB of the SEBI Act,
1992 is clearly attracted.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

30. For imposition of penalties under the provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992, Section 15J of the
SEBI Act, 1992 provides as follows:

“Factors to be taken into account while adjudging quantum of penalty.

15J. While adjudging quantum of penalty under 15-I or section 11 or section 11B, the
Board or the adjudicating officer shall have due regard to the following factors,
namely: —
(a) the amount of disproportionate gain or unfair advantage, wherever
quantifiable, made as a result of the default;
(b) the amount of loss caused to an investor or group of investors as a result of the
default;
(c) the repetitive nature of the default.”

Explanation. —For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that the power to adjudge
the quantum of penalty under sections 15A to 15E, clauses (b) and (c) of section
15F, 15G, 15H and 15HA shall be and shall always be deemed to have been
exercised under the provisions of this section.”

31. As discussed in the aforesaid paragraphs, I note that a total of Rs. 29,99,647/- has been
received by the Noticee in the bank accounts/ Razorpay for the unregistered investment
advisory services provided by him. Thus, in the light of the findings in the preceding
paragraphs, I am of the considered view that the Noticee is liable for refund of the
aforementioned amount collected as an unregistered investment adviser in addition to
monetary penalties which are attracted for the said violations under Section 15EB of the
SEBI Act.

DIRECTIONS

32. In view of the foregoing, I, in exercise of the powers conferred upon me in terms Sections
11(1), 11(4) and 11B (1), 11B (2) read with of Section 19 of the SEBI Act, and Rule 5 of
the SEBI (Procedure for Holding Inquiry and Imposing Penalties) Rules, 1995, do hereby
pass the following directions:

(a) The Noticee, Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi shall, within a period of three (3) months from
the date coming into force of this order, refund the money received from any
complainants/ investors/ clients, as fees or consideration or in any other form, in
respect of his unregistered investment advisory activities;

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(b) The Noticee shall issue public notice in all editions of two National Dailies (one
English and one Hindi) and in one local daily with wide circulation, detailing the
modalities for refund, including the details of contact person such as names, addresses
and contact details, within 15 days of coming into force of this direction;

(c) The repayments to the complainants/ investors shall be effected only through Bank
Demand Draft or Pay Order or electronic fund transfer or through any other
appropriate banking channels, which ensures audit trails to identify the beneficiaries
of repayments;

(d) The Noticee is prevented from selling his assets, properties and holding of mutual
funds/shares/securities held by him in demat and physical form except for the sole
purpose of making the refunds as directed above. Further, the banks are directed to
allow debit from the bank accounts of the Noticee, only for the purpose of making
refunds to the clients/ investors/ complainants who were availing the investment
advisory services from the Noticee;

(e) After completing the aforesaid repayments, the Noticee shall file a report of such
completion with SEBI addressed to the “Division Chief, Division of Post-Inspection
Enforcement Action, Market Intermediaries Regulation and Supervision Department,
SEBI Bhavan II, Plot No. C7, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East)
Mumbai –400051”, within a period of 15 days, after completion of three months from
the coming into force of the directions at para 32(a) and (b) above, duly certified by
an independent Chartered Accountant and the direction at para 32(d) above shall cease
to operate upon filing of such report on completion of refunds to complainants/
investors;

(f) The remaining balance amount shall be deposited with SEBI which will be kept in an
escrow account for a period of one year for distribution to
clients/complainants/investors who were availing the investment advisory services
from the Noticee. Thereafter, remaining amount if any will be deposited in the
‘Investors Protection and Education Fund’ maintained by SEBI;

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

(g) The Noticee is restrained from accessing the securities market, directly or indirectly
and is prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in the securities market,
directly or indirectly in any manner whatsoever, for a period of 6 months from the date
of this order or till the expiry of 6 months from the date of completion of refunds to
complainants/ investors as directed in paragraph 32 (a) above, whichever is later;

(h) The Noticee is hereby imposed with a penalty of Rs. 1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh
only) under Section 15EB of the SEBI Act, 1992 and further directed to pay the
penalty within a period of forty-five (45) days, from the date of receipt of this order;

(i) In case of failure of the Noticee to comply with the aforesaid directions in sub-
paragraph (a), (f) and (h), SEBI, on the expiry of the stipulated time period therein
from the date of coming into force of this order, may recover such amounts, from the
Noticee, in accordance with Section 28A of the SEBI Act, 1992 including such other
provisions contained in securities laws;

(j) The Noticee shall remit / pay the said amounts of penalty, either by way of Demand
Draft in favour of “SEBI -Penalties Remittable to Government of India”, payable at
Mumbai or through online payment facility available on the website of SEBI, i.e.
www.sebi.gov.in on the following path, by clicking on the payment link:
ENFORCEMENT -> Orders -> Orders of Chairman/ Members -> PAY NOW. In case
of any difficulties in online payment of penalties, the Noticee may contact the support
at [email protected]. The demand draft or the details/ confirmation of e-payment
should be sent to “The Division Chief, Market Intermediaries Regulation and
Supervision Department (MIRSD), Division of Registration-2, SEBI Bhavan II, Plot
no. C-7, "G" Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai -400 051” and also
to e-mail id:[email protected] in the format as given in table below:

Case Name
Name of Payee
Date of Payment
Amount Paid
Transaction No.

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 Order in the matter of Unregistered Investment Advisory Services by Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi

Payment is made for: (like penalties/ disgorgement/

recovery/ settlement amount/ legal charges along with
order details)

(k) The Noticee shall not undertake, either during or after the expiry of the period of
debarment/restraint as mentioned in paragraph 32(g) above, either directly or
indirectly, investment advisory services or any activity in the securities market
without obtaining a certificate of registration from SEBI as required under the
securities laws.

33. It is hereby clarified that if the Noticee has any open position in any exchange traded
derivative contracts, as on the date of this order, he can close out/ square off such open
positions within 3 months from the date of order or at the expiry of such contracts,
whichever is earlier. The Noticee is permitted to settle the pay in and pay out obligations
in respect of transactions, if any, which have taken place before the close of trading on the
date of this order.

34. The direction for refund, as given in paragraph 32(a) above, does not preclude the
clients/investors to pursue the other legal remedies available to them under any other law,
against the Noticee for refund of money or deficiency in service before any appropriate
forum of competent jurisdiction.

35. This order shall come into force with immediate effect.

36. A copy of this order shall be sent to the Noticee, Mr. Santhoshkumar Ravi, recognized
Stock Exchanges, the relevant banks, Depositories and Registrar and Transfer Agents of
mutual funds to ensure that the directions given above are strictly complied with.

Sd/-
Date: February 21, 2024 Dr. ANITHA ANOOP
Place: Mumbai CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA

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