Resolution no. 20825

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.fsmsmart.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.fsmsmart.com website, it emerged that:

i. the www.fsmsmart.com website is in Italian and displays an telephone number ('+0634802953') and an email address (cs-it@fsmsmart.com) specifically dedicated to Italian investors;

ii. the potential investor, after registration into the said website and opening an account via a specific online form, has the opportunity to trade in the currency market (FOREX) and in CFDs through a MT4 platform;

iii. in order to carry out trading transactions, an investment of money is required, to be paid into an account opened online.In particular, the said website offers various types of account, namely 'Beginner', 'Silver', 'Gold' and 'Platinum', mainly distinguished by the minimum deposit required and the benefits to users;

iv. the footer of every page of the said website, the 'Contact Us' section and in the 'Terms and Conditions' section all mention the 'FSM Smart Ltd' company, with alleged representative address in Switzerland;

v. the platform is attributable to FSM Smart Ltd with offices at the Marshall Islands;

vi. the www.fsmsmart.com website and the services offered therein seem therefore to be attributable to the FSM Smart Ltd company, with offices at the Marshall Islands.

HAVING CONSIDERED that the activities performed though the www.fsmsmart.com 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 they can issue purchase and/or sales orders of financial instruments;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the above described operations, carried out through the www.fsmsmart.com website are directed to the public of Italian investors, since the website is also available in Italian and FSM Smart Ltd use forms of direct contact and interaction with Italian clients, providing procedural and operational instructions on how to invest in financial instruments;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the company mentioned on the said website 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 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 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 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 discontinue the infringement of Art .18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 perpetrated in part via www.fsmsmart.com website, consisting of the offering and 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 service.

February 20, 2019

THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
Anna Genovese