Pump-&-dump operators of Sadhna Broadcast back in action; Sebi cracks down again: Sources

Besides the YouTube messaging, what seems to have delivered this network its high returns is the target price they would set

The market regulator has conducted search-and-seizure operations at the offices of Manish Mishra and his associates, to investigate a suspected pump-and-dump operation, according to sources.

Mishra has already been restrained from accessing the securities market for his involvement in the price manipulation of Sadhna Broadcast stocks through an earlier order issued on October 31, 2023.

That scam had got a lot of media attention because celebrities like Arshad Warsi and Maria Goretti Warsi had been investigated in the matter. One of Mishra's associates, IPS officer Ravindra Dahyabhai Patel, who had paid a settlement amount to the regulator on the Sadhna Broadcast matter on February 19, 2025, was also subject to the recent raids.

Sources told Moneycontrol that the latest operation, conducted late last week, was to probe Mishra and Patel's involvement in the price manipulation of various stocks.

Officials of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) conducted the operations across several cities, including Benguluru and Delhi. A rough estimate of the gains made is between Rs 20-40 crore. Moneycontrol has written to SEBI and this article will be updated when the response comes in. Moneycontrol could not reach Mishra and Patel; the story will be updated once we receive a response. Moneycontrol has also reached out to Sadhna Broadcast for a response.

Also read: Sebi board meet today to discuss several ease-of-doing business measures for FPIs, RAs, IAs and AIFs: Sources

The modus operandi is allegedly similar to what Mishra and his associates had done in the Sadhna Broadcast case. They were creating videos  that were highly positive about certain stocks to be posted on YouTube, said a person in the know on condition of anonymity.

"These videos would flash fake news that is positive for the stocks. The stock price would increase and then the operators would dump the stock and  the videos would disappear," added the source.

In the October 2023 SEBI order on Sadhna Broadcast, the modus operandi was described thus: "During the second half of July 2022, false and misleading videos about the company were uploaded on two YouTube channels namely, “The Advisor” and “Moneywise”. These videos peddled false and misleading news to recommend that investors should buy the Sadhna stock for extraordinary profits. These YouTube Channels had lakhs of subscribers and the misleading videos had crores of views, aided by promotion through paid advertising campaigns. After a while, the misleading YouTube videos ceased to be available for public viewing."

Besides the videos, what seems to have fetched these players high returns is the target price they would set. "They would give a long target, for example, by saying that this stock will go up from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000. Such big returns are tempting and people buy the stock," a source close to the development said.

IPS officer Patel had not been named in SEBI's order on Sadhna Broadcasting. He had been issued a showcause notice in the same matter later, on January 9, 2024. He had filed a settlement application on February 24, 2024, and paid the settlement amount of over Rs 2.6 crore, including Rs 1.9 crore as the disgorgement amount, in February 2025.

The latest SEBI raid, which included raids on his residence, comes less than a month after Patel's settlement order was issued on February 27, 2025.