Resolution no. 20374

Order pursuant to Article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b), of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") to cease the infringement performed via the www.brokeryard.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 ESTABLISHED that, from the information available, people operating in name of "Broker Yard" have contacted Italian investors by telephone in order to persuade them to open an account and carry out trading transactions on the said website; moreover, some complainants have received emails in Italian containing operational instructions and an Italian telephone contact number;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on www.brokeryard.com website, it emerged that:

i. the potential investor, after the registration on the said website via a specific online form and opening of an account on which to deposit money, has the opportunity to trade on the FOREX and CFD markets through a dedicated platform. In particular, the said website offers various types of account, namely “Classic”, “Standard”, “Premium” and “Tailored”, distinguished above all by the minimum deposit required and by the benefits;

ii. the “Techofin Ltd” company, with alleged offices in the Marshall Islands, is indicated in the "Terms and Conditions" section and at the foot of every page of the said website;

iii. the www.brokeryard.com website and the services offered therein are therefore attributable to Techofin Ltd.

HAVING CONSIDERED that the above described operation, also carried out via the www.brokeryard.com website, are addressed to the public of Italian investors, as the company contact Italian clients, to whom a specific telephone number is dedicated, by telephone, and the said website has no blocking mechanism in place to prevent Italian users from registering;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that the activities also carried out also via the said website 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 purchase and/or sale orders involving financial instruments can be issued;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved to authorised entities 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 that the operations carried out via the above mentioned website cannot be attributed to any company authorised to the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public investment; the company mentioned in the www.brokeryard.com website is not actually registered on the dedicated register held by CONSOB pursuant to Art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that the operation in question is configured 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, according to that outlined under 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 therefor 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:

The order is issued to cease the infringement of Art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 also performed via the www.brokeryard.com, website consisting of the provision of services and investment 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