Resolution no. 21924

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 website https://luxurycapitals.com and the relative pages https://client.luxurycapitals.com and https://webtrader.luxurycapitals.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 the checks carried out, it emerged that:

i. the website https://luxurycapitals.com - which is active, available in Italian and registered anonymously - is composed of the sections"How to trade", "Where to trade", "What to trade", "Why you should trade" and "When to trade" and offers users, after opening an account, the possibility of placing trades on the forex market as well as on shares, indices, CFDs, cryptocurrencies and commodities through a trading platform;

ii. in order to place such trading orders, users must register with the website, through a procedure that is also available for Italian users, after which it is possible to access the reserved area https://client.luxurycapitals.com, where it is possible to deposit and withdraw funds. The trading platform is hosted on the page available at https://webtrader.luxurycapitals.com;

iii. four types of account are offered on the website, referred to as "Bronzo", "Oro", "Nerone" and "Platino", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. regarding the website's traceability, the bottom of the pages of the website states the name "NEWWAY 1 Pltd" and it is specified that "Luxury Capitals is a commercial name operated by Newway 1 Pltd" with stated registered address in Bulgaria;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://luxurycapitals.com and the relative pages https://client.luxurycapitals.com and https://webtrader.luxurycapitals.com 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 above-described activity, carried out through the website https://luxurycapitals.com and the relative pages https://client.luxurycapitals.com and https://webtrader.luxurycapitals.com, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian retail investors, insofar as the the website https://luxurycapitals.com is also available in Italian and reports have been received of cold calling towards Italian savers regarding the same website;

WHEREAS "NEWWAY 1 Pltd", as mentioned on the website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it is not listed on the dedicated register maintained by Consob pursuant to art. 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 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 no. 58/98 carried out through the website https://luxurycapitals.com and relevant pages https://client.luxurycapitals.com and https://webtrader.luxurycapitals.com, which constitute the offering and provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties and 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.

23 June 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona