Resolution no. 21698

Order, pursuant to article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the https://revolution-fx.io and https://revolution-fx.cc websites

LA COMMISSIONE NAZIONALE PER LE SOCIETÀ E LA BORSA
[THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COMPANIES AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE]

HAVING REGARD TO Law no. 216 of 7 June 1974 and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING REGARD TO Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the website, it emerged that:

i. potential investors are offered the opportunity through the https://revolution-fx.io website to trade Forex, trading CFDs with underlying shares, indices and commodities, through the Metatrader4 platform;

ii. in order to carry out the above trading transactions, the user is obliged to register with the https://revolution-fx.io website through a registration procedure that is also available to Italian users, log in to their personal area on the same domain also available in Italian, open a tradingaccount and spend sums of money;

iii. in particular, six types of accounts are mentioned on the https://revolution-fx.io website, called “Micro”, “Mini”, “Classic”, “Pro”, “Vip” and “Platinum”, depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. as regards traceability, the “Terms and Conditions” section of the website states that “these terms and conditions, together with all policies are inseparable part of a binding agreement between me and RevolutionFX” which states that its registered office is in "St. Vincent and the Grenadines”;

v. at the bottom of the https://revolution-fx.io website pages and in the “Contacts” section of the domain, amongst other things, there is an email address containing a reference to Italy (compliance.it@fxrevolution.io) and a telephone number with an Italian area code (+390694809418);

vi. the separate https://revolution-fx.cc web domain, which is also available in Italian, hosts a registration page for this domain;

vii. after registering on the https://revolution-fx.cc site, the user has access to a personal area on the aforementioned domain - which presents content and graphic format similar to those of the registration page on the separate https://revolution-fx.io site – where they can make money deposits, open an account, and access the online trading platform;

viii. as to traceability, “RevolutionFX” is indicated at the foot of the https://revolution-fx.cc website pages;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://revolution-fx.io and https://revolution-fx.cc domains, can be classed as the provision of investment services, as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account against which purchase and/or sale orders for financial instruments can be issued;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the domains is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since there have been reports of cold calling retail investors in Italy; at the bottom of the website pages and in the “Contacts” section there is an email address and a telephone number specifically dedicated to Italian users; the domain's registration page is also available in Italian. In addition, the separate https://revolution-fx.cc domain was found to also be available for consultation in Italian;

WHEREAS the company “RevolutionFX” mentioned in the https://revolution-fx.io and https://revolution-fx.cc domains is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear on the register kept by Consob pursuant to article 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved to licensed parties as referred to under article 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which, “The professional provision of investment services and activities to the public is reserved to Italian Investment firms, EU investment firms, Italian banks, EU banks and non-EU firms”;

HAVING ESTABLISHED, therefore, that the operations in question qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in infringement of article 18, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that, according to the provisions of article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance – “Powers to counteract abuse” - Consob “may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities through the Internet without being qualified pursuant to this decree: […] b) order that the infringement cease”;

CONSIDERING it therefore necessary, in the light of the foregoing, to adopt this Resolution immediately for reasons of urgency;

RESOLVES:

To order the cessation of the infringement of article 18 of Legislative Decree 58/1998 carried out through the https://revolution-fx.io and https://revolution-fx.cc domains, consisting in the offering and provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of those whom it concerns and will be published in the Consob Bulletin.

This measure may be appealed before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio within 60 days.

January 27, 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona