Resolution no. 21092

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 website https://it.247worldbtcfx.com

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 ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the website https://it.247worldbtcfx.com, it emerged that:

i. thewebsite https://it.247worldbtcfx.com is also available in Italian;

ii. The websitehttps://it.247worldbtcfx.com offers the potential investor, after opening an account via the registration procedure that is also available to the Italian user, the possibility of trading in the Forex market and on commodities;

iii. in order to perform trading transactions, a investment of money is required,

through the payment of sums on the account opened online; in particular, there are three types of account named, depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits envisaged, "Standard", "Classic", "Gold" and "Premium";

iv. References of the company Game ADS Capital Limited, which declares to have its offices in Switzerland, can be found at the bottom of every page on the website;

HAVING REGARD TO the CONSOB Resolutions Nos 20806 of February 6, 2019 and 21036 of September 3, 2019 with which the company Game ADS Capital Limited, which on those occasions stated that it had its offices in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and/or in Bulgaria and/or in the United Kingdom, was ordered to cease infringement of art. 18 of the TUF put in place, with reference to Resolution No. 20806, via the websites https://procapitalfx.com, https://it.probtctrade.com, https://it.btcglobefx.com, https://firstfxclub.com, https://it.protradefx.com, https://it.smartbtcfx.com, https://capitalfxclub.com, https://it.capitalbtcfx.com, https://cryptoclubfx.com, https://gamebtcfx.com, https://it.360smartfx.com and www.smartprofx.com and, with reference to the Resolution n. 21036, via the website www.capitalgbp.com;

HAVING CONSIDERED the similarity of the content and graphic layout observed with reference to the above-mentioned websitesalready the subject of investigations and those observed with reference to the website https://it.247worldbtcfx.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 aforementioned operations performed via the website https://it.247worldbtcfx.com are still ongoing and are directed towards Italian investors, insofar as the website is also available in Italian;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the companies mentioned in the website are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not registered on the 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 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 CONSIDERED that, according to the provisions of art. 7-octies of the Consolidated Law on Finance - “Powers to counteract abuse” - CONSOB “may, with regard to anyone who offers or performs investment services or activities through the Internet without due authorisation pursuant to this decree: […] (b) order to cease the infringement";

HAVING CONSIDERED, therefore, that it is necessary to immediately adopt this resolution as, in light of the above findings and considerations, there are justified 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 website https://it.247worldbtcfx.com, 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.

September 25, 2019

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona