Resolution no. 20696

Order, pursuant to Article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b), of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') to discontinue the infringement of Article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance performed through the www.richmondinvesting.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 checks on the www.richmondinvesting.com website, it emerged that:

i. although the said website is in English, in its reserved area, access to which requires the user to register, a trading platform is made available even in an Italian version;

ii. there are no mechanisms in place aimed to preventing Italian residents from accessing and registering to the said website;

iii. the potential investor, after prior registration and opening an account by filling in an online form, is given the opportunity to access a reserved area where a trading platform is made available even in an Italian version, for trading in currencies, indexes, commodities and cryptocurrencies can be made;

iv. in order to carry out these transactions, an investment of money is required, to be paid by the user into the account opened online;

v. in the said website refers generically to 'Richmond Investing' without providing the exact company name or the registered address;

vi. at the bottom of some pages of the website, the following email address is displayed: info@richmondinvesting.com;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the activity carried out via the said website can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in Art. 1, para. 5 of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account against which purchase and/or sale orders for financial instruments can be issued;

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

HAVING ESTABLISHED that the companies mentioned on the said website are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as these companies are not registered on the specific register held by CONSOB pursuant to Art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD to the fact that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved for 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, 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, according 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 fact that the party is not authorised to perform the activity indicated under article 1, paragraph 5; b) order that the infringement be discontinued”;

HEREBY RESOLVES:

The order is issued to discontinue the infringement of Art .18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 perpetrated via the www.richmondinvesting.com website and consisting of the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of those concerned and published in CONSOB's Bulletin.

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

November 14, 2018

THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
Anna Genovese