Resolution no. 21799

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 www.market-4fx.com website and its page https://client.tradecabinet.com

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 web, it emerged that:

i. through the www.market-4fx.com website - which is active and registered anonymously - potential investors are offered trading opportunities on CFDs relating to currencies, shares and commodities;

ii. in order to place the aforesaid trades, users must register with the www.market-4fx.com website - through a procedure that is also available to Italian users from the https://client.tradecabinet.com page, and which can be accessed directly from the www.market-4fx.com website’s homepage - open a trading account and deposit relevant funds;

iii. in particular, four types of account are mentioned on the www.market-4fx.com website, referred to as "Classic", "Gold", "Platinum" and "VIP", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. as for traceability, the www.market-4fx.com website mentions Astrica Ltd and in the "Terms of Business" section of the said site there are references to the jurisdiction of the Marshall Islands;

HAVING REGARD TO Resolution no. 21519 of 30 September 2020, whereby the abovenamed Astrica Ltd, with its registered address in the Marshall Islands, was ordered to cease its infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate www.market4fx.com website;

WHEREAS, in addition to using a domain that is partially superimposable on that of the above www.market4fx.com website, the www.market-4fx.com domain replicates the content and graphic format of the said www.market4fx.com site;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the www.market-4fx.com website and the relevant https://client.tradecabinet.compage constitutes the provision of investment services, as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as users are offered the possibility through the aforementioned domains to open a trading account and place buy and/or sale orders on financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the www.market-4fx.com website and the relevant https://client.tradecabinet.com page, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since it has been noted that the personal area of the www.market- 4fx.com website, to which the user has access after registering, is also availble in Italian and, moreover, there have been reports for the https://client.tradecabinet.com page of cold calling retail investors in Italy;

WHEREAS Astrica Ltd, with its registered address in the Marshall Islands, mentioned on the website and relevant page, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not listed in the register maintained by Consob pursuant to article 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence to provide investment services and activities as per 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 Stock brokerage 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 art. 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 abusive practices" - CONSOB "may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities over the Internet without being qualified to do so pursuant to this decree: […] b) order the cessation of the infringement";

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 no. 58/98 carried out through the www.market-4fx.com website and relevant https://client.tradecabinet.com page, constituting the offer and provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties and will be published in the Consob Bulletin.

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

14 April 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona