“Get 30% assured returns on investment.”
“Double your capital in 10 Weeks with the algo.”
“Get Recovery of all your Losses.”
Attractive lines, Isn’t it?
So, how many of you will PAY for Courses after coming across such assurance? Let me assume if not wrong at least 7/10.
Highly possible, that this number is correct. But what if instead of any education, all you get is the recommendations and tips? Even better for some who are looking forward to making quick profits in the stock market.
Now those excited people increase the confidence of scammers like Md Nasiruddin Ansari, aka Md Nasir, aka Baap of Charts who openly sold his unethical and illegal schemes to traders who were either new or struggling to recover their losses in the market.
But, investing in such schemes, disappointed those traders even more as they lost all their hard-earned money in the stock market.
However, we came across his unethical practices last year in May and worked dedicatedly to expose him in one of our videos published on July 05, 2023.
What we uncovered, might have helped SEBI later who then fined him the penalty of ₹17,20,76,616.09 (Rupees Seventeen Crores Twenty Lakhs, Seventy-Six Thousand, Six Hundred Sixteen and Zero Nine paisa)
Let’s take you to the detail so that it becomes easier for you to identify such fake finfluencers.
How We Uncovered the Truth About Baap of Charts?
It all started when Baap of Charts tweeted on his handle in March 2023:
“I have made an algo that will double your capital in 10 weeks! How many of you are interested? Let’s kick off this Holi.”
On coming across this, we tweeted “Is it legal” and tagged SEBI and NSE.
Later we did some more research and found that he was running a website, a YouTube channel, an Instagram handle, and a Telegram, without any fear.
This raised our concern, as it is not just unethical but illegal to promote such things without any registration or rights.
We then decided to do one video but published it on Twitter only. However, we didn’t get much views there but our video made Md Nasir delete his tweet.
Maybe, he would have realized that what he was doing was not right. However, he didn’t stop and did so only to get away from the eyes of regulatory bodies.
Later we found that out of 3000 complaints against finfluencers there were 50+ complaints that we received against Baap of Charts.
Then was high time, as SEBI and exchange were not taking any action at that time. Hence we found it our responsibility to aware traders about the same.
We started with his YouTube channel and found videos with thumbnail titles like:
- Is strategy ko follow karo kabhi loss nahi hoga!
- Recover all your losses in 90 Days with Guarantee
- How to make 10 crores with ₹1 lakh
And many more.
Creating inducement from his thumbnail title. And no doubt, beginner traders, unaware of market regulations and other realities of trading, would easily fall for it. Right?
This happened as well as we received more and more number of complaints agains him.
Secondly, we checked his website and came across different course plans where he mentioned his Algo with a guaranteed return. The plan cost was ₹9000. Similarly, there were other plans worth ₹6,000/-.
We bought one course worth ₹6000 and when it came to making a payment, guess what we discovered?
The person who claimed himself to be a Baap of the stock market, had created a glamorized lifestyle and fan-following didn’t even have a current account or a payment gateway.
All that he was using was a UPI Payment method.
Well, we made a payment.
But what shocked us was that after making a payment we didn’t get any response.
We sent an email on the same day and the following day, but nothing happened. No response.
Now, just think once, making a payment and not getting any validation or response. Isn’t it a scam itself?
Wonder how many people would have given up at this phase only.
But we tried continuously.
The following day we sent an email with the message that on getting no response, we would be raising the concern in SEBI.
That helped and on the following day, we received an email with the Whatsapp number details.
Another shock awaits us!
We received a detail of the plan we bought.
And if we need dedicated support from Md. Nasir, then we need to deposit an additional sum of ₹15,000 which would be adjusted with our profit later.
Dedicated support! This meant tips and recommendations.
But wait! Md Nasir was not registered RA or IA. What made him eligible for the same?
Well, our investigation was going in the right direction.
As per the plan we bought, we received a few tips and recommendations on WhatsApp. We took screenshots and then published a YouTube video with all the details.
Also, we drafted all the details with all the documents and proofs and sent a detailed email highlighting his activities to SEBI on July 29, 2023.
But didn’t get any response from SEBI too.
This left us a little disappointed but soon SEBI proved itself and released an Interim cum Show Cause notice against him on October 25, 2023, where it imposed a penalty of ₹17,20,76.616.09
A sigh of relief, as all the hard work pays off.
What SEBI Uncovered in the Interim Order?
- In their investigation, SEBI found the same activities as we did, where through educational courses, Baap of Charts aka Md Nasir was providing tips and recommendations without holding any RA/IA license.
- There were other entities and individuals named Rahul Rao, Padamati, Tabraiz Abdullah, and their associated companies Golden Syndicate Ventures Pvt. Ltd. were found connected with the scam directly or indirectly.
- Further, SEBI found a violation of regulation, where Md Nasir mentioned and claimed “Guaranteed Returns” misleading his audience. And when dug deeper SEBI found that he, the one, who is claiming guaranteed returns of 100% was himself in the loss of around ₹2,89,60,828.02.
- Along with the online services, he was running offline Seminars where he was providing LIVE Trading classes to his audience.
- SEBI checked his bank accounts and UPI transactions and found that amount of around ₹13,78,61,576.35 & 3,42,15,039.74 was collected from different clients, respectively in the name of different courses, plans, and schemes.
What Action Did SEBI Take?
On complete investigation, SEBI found a violation of too many regulations including IA/RA and PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations).
The regulatory body thus published an interim order to protect the interests of other retail traders and to protect the integrity of the stock market and imposed a penalty of ₹17 crores based on investigation and bank account details of 2 years.
Further, SEBI froze his bank account and banned him along with other linked persons from trading directly or indirectly in the stock market.
A good step and immediate action by SEBI that shows that by raising the voice against such violators one can get justice and recovery of their lost amount.
Did Victims Benefit from SEBI’s Order?
Well, in cases like these where unregistered persons are involved in providing tips and recommendations, SEBI doesn’t consider trading losses. Hence refund only the fees amount to the victims.
Hence in this case too, the client who would have reached out with the details to SEBI with valid proof might have received the amount of fees they paid to Baap of Charts with the expectation to make gains in the market.
But just imagine the amount of capital they might have lost by following tips and recommendations of the person who himself was in the loss in the market.
Now, incidents like these leave a lesson behind for other beginner traders and investors and make it even more important for them to be more alert & active while choosing any services in the stock market.
How You Can Identify such Fake Finfluencers Like Baap of Charts?
Last but not least, how a newbie trader can identify a fake finfluencer? Well, there are hints and red flags and one can identify them if they are aware of the market regulations.
Fake finfluencers are those who:
- Share trading tips with RA license via Whatsapp, telegram channels, etc
- Recommend unregulated products such as binary, forex trading
- Himself is in loss-making trading but is claiming to be otherwise
- Offer guaranteed return strategy or anything that has zero loss outcome
- Involved in Profit sharing scheme providers
Identifying such red flags at the earliest can protect you from getting scammed and capital loss.
