Illegally use of identifying elements identical or similar to those of companies actually authorised as well as the name of Consob and other supervisory authorities

The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange reports that it has detected a significant increase of reports relating to "investment companies" stating that they are authorised to operate by CONSOB itself or by other supervisory authorities of EU countries. These subjects illegally use, even on their own websites, identifying elements (company, brand, name or corporate name, headquarters, addresses, web and/or e-mail addresses, etc.) that are identical or similar to those of companies actually authorised and, sometimes, also refer to "licenses", whether valid or expired, issued by supervisory authorities to different subjects. By so doing, these subjects present themselves to potential customers as being authorised, often offering highly profitable investments in an underhand way.

Considered that the initiatives undertaken by the so-called "clone" websites and/or companies might conceal deceptive operations aimed at taking possession of any money conferred, CONSOB invites investors to carefully consult the lists of investment firms actually authorised to operate in Italy (http://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/imprese-di-investimento1) as well as the investor protection warnings (http://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/avvisi-ai-risparmiatori) and, in any event, to be very careful before making investment decisions.

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The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange has ordered, pursuant to article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF), the following companies to cease infringement of article 18 of the TUF: octies, lettera b), del Testo unico della finanza - Tuf di porre termine alla violazione dell’articolo 18 del Tuf, posta in essere da:

• Swissinv24 Ltd through the website https://swissinv24.com (Resolution no. 20903 of April 18, 2019);
• Index Limited through the website https://4xpremium.com (Resolution no. 20902 of April 18, 2019);
• Agm Limited / Agm Group Ltd through the website www.agm-invest.com (Resolution no. 20899 of April 18, 2019);
• Gmt Crypto (through the websites www.gmtcrypto.ch and https://gmt-crypto.com (Resolution no. 20898 of April 18, 2019);
• Iwc Invest through the website www.iwcinvestment.com (Resolution no. 20897 of April 18, 2019).

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The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange has also suspended, for a period of 90 days, pursuant to Article 99, paragraph 1, letter b), of the TUF, the offering to the Italian public entitled "FutureAdPro" related to the purchase of advertising packages, put in place by B C U Trading LLC through the website www.futurenet.club and the specific page https://www.futurenet-club.com/italiano/futurenet-futurenetadpro/ (Resolution no. 20901 of April 18, 2019).

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Finally, the National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange has prohibited, pursuant to Article 99, paragraph 1, letter d) of the TUF, the public offering of "Polis advertising packages " promoted by Amicopolis Limited (Resolution no. 20900 of April 18, 2019). With resolution no. 20783 the Commission had already suspended the offer to the Italian public concerning these products for a period of ninety days.

(Published in "Consob Informa" no. 15/2019 - 23 April 2019)