Resolution no. 20371

Order pursuant to Article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b), of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 (“Consolidated Law on Finance”) to discontinue the infringement performed via the www.24stox.com/www.xtradefx.com website

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 June 7, 1974, and subsequent amendments and additions;

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

HAVING ALSO ESTABLISHED that, according to the information available, people operating in the name of “24stox” have contacted Italian investors by telephone in order to persuade them to open an account and perform trading transactions on the said website;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the www.24stox.com website, it emerged that:

i. currently, by the 24stox.com domain, you are automatically directed to the www.xtradefx.com website;

ii. the potential investors, subject to registration on the said website and opening an account via the dedicated form available online, can trade on the foreign currency market (Forex) and in energy, soft commodities, indexes and precious metals through the MT4 platform;

iii. in order to perform the trading transactions, investors are required to invest money via payment into an account opened online. In particular, the website offers various types of account, namely “Micro”, “Standard”, “Premium” and “Vip”, distinguished above all by the minimum deposit required and the benefits;

iv. in the “Contact Us” section and at the bottom of each page of the said website, there is the indication of the “2dots Ltd” company, with alleged office in the Republic of Vanuatu;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the activities performed via the website in question can be classed as the provision of investment services referred to in Art. 1, para. 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity to open a trading account against which they can issue purchase and/or sales orders of financial instruments;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the operations identified are also directed to investors resident in Italy who are contacted by telephone and invited to open trading accounts on the aforementioned website;

HAVING CONSIDERED that 2dots Ltd is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not registered on the dedicated register held by CONSOB pursuant to Art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved for authorised subjects as referred to under Art. 18, para. 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which “The professional provision of investment services and activities for the public is reserved for investment firms and banks”;

HAVING ESTABLISHED, therefore, that the operations in question can be classed as the professional provision of investment services involving financial instruments to the Italian public, in infringement of Art. 18, para. 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING CONSIDERED that, pursuant to Art. 7-octies 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 therefore pursuant to this decree: a) make public, even by way of a precaution, the circumstance that the party is not authorised to carry out the activity indicated by article 1, paragraph 5; b) order that the infringement cease”;

HEREBY RESOLVES:

To order the cessation of the infringement of Art .18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 also performed via the www.24stox.com/www.xtradefx.com websites, consisting of the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be notified to those concerned and published in CONSOB’s Bulletin.

This measure may be appealed with the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio within 60 days from the date of notification.

5 April 2018

THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
Anna Genovese