Resolution no. 20960

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 article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance performed through the https://it.tqrtrade.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 7 June 1974 and subsequent amendments and additions;

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

HAVING FOUND that, from checks on the https://it.tqrtrade.com website, it emerged that:

i. the https://www.it.tqrtrade.com website, registered anonymously, is also available in Italian;

ii. subject to prior registration on the website and opening an account online, potential investors are offered the opportunity to trade online via a dedicated digital platform;

iii. in order to perform the trading transactions, a investment of money is required, to be paid into the account opened online; in particular, there are various types of account available, named, according to the minimum deposit to be made and the promised benefits, 'Standard', 'Classic', 'Gold' and 'Platinum';

HAVING CONSIDERED that the activity carried out via the aforementioned website qualifies 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 https://it.tqrtrade.com website are still ongoing and are directed towards Italian investors, insofar as the website is also available in Italian;

HAVING FOUND that, despite the fact that the https://it.tqrtrade.com website indicates the name and registered address of an authorised investment firm, the operations undertaken via this website are not attributable to any authorised entity;

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 qualify 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 REGARD TO the fact 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 in article 1, paragraph 5; b) order the party to cease the infringement';

HAVING CONSIDERED 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 https://it.tqrtrade.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 notification.

June 12, 2019

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona