Resolution no. 22014

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 www.kiplar.org

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. the website www.kiplar.org offers potential investors the possibility to carry out trading transactions relating to "Currencies, cryptocurrencies, stocks, shares, equities, commodities, indices, futures, derivatives, and other financial instruments";

ii. in order to place such trades, users must open a trading account and deposit relevant funds;

iii. the website www.kiplar.org mentions four types of account, referred to as "Starter", "Basic", "Advanced" and "Professional", which vary depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. as for traceability, at the bottom of the website www.kiplar.org and in the "Terms and Conditions" document, the company name "Kiplar Ltd" is stated with registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;

v. the website provides the following email addresses: "livesupport@kiplar.com" and "assistance-en@kiplar.com".

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 21895 of 10 June 2021, which ordered the company Kiplar Ltd to cease its infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate website www.kiplar.com containing a similar structure and content to the website www.kiplar.org;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website www.kiplar.org constitutes the provision of investment services within the meaning of article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, given that users are offered the opportunity to open a trading account and place buy and/or sell orders on financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the aforementioned website www.kiplar.org is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since there have been reports of investment solicitation through remote communication techniques with the public in Italy;

WHEREAS the company www.kiplar.org cannot be attributed to any entity which is authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as the company Kiplar Ltd, with registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as mentioned on the website www.kiplar.org, is not listed on the register maintained 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 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 website www.kiplar.org, which constitutes the 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.

22 September 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona