Resolution no. 20951

Order, pursuant to Article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') to cease the infringement of Art. 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance performed via the www.londonfuturemarket.com website

LA COMMISSIONE NAZIONALE PER LE SOCIETÀ E LA BORSA
[THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COMPANIES AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE]

HAVING REAGARD 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.londonfuturemarket.com website, it emerged that:

i. the www.londonfuturemarket.com website, registered by an anonymous user, is also available in Italian;

ii. subject to prior registration to the website and opening an account through the registration procedure which is also available to Italian users, potential investors are offered the opportunity to trade in the FOREX market, CFDs and cryptocurrencies;

iii. in order to perform trading transactions, an investment of money is required, to be paid into the account opened online; in particular, there are various types of account available, with different names according to the minimum deposit required and the promised benefits, namely 'Classic', 'Silver', 'Gold', 'Platinum' and 'VIP';

iv. In the English version of the 'Terms & Conditions' it is stated that 'This website is owned and operated by a Corp Ltd', with alleged office in Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, at an address that is the same as that shown in the 'Contact us' section of the Italian version of the website in question;

HAVING ESTABLISHED 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 aforementioned operations performed via the www.londonfuturemarket.com/ website are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the said website is also available in Italian;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the company mentioned on the 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, 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 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';

CONSIDERING it therefore necessary, in the light of the foregoing, to adopt this resolution immediately for reasons of urgency;

HEREBY RESOLVES:

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

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of those whom it concerns and will be published in the CONSOB Bulletin.

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

June 4, 2019

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona