Resolution no. 21128

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 websites https://aspenholding.co and https://aspen-holding.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 websites https://aspenholding.co and https://aspen-holding.com, it emerged that:

i. the websiteshttps://aspenholding.co and https://aspen-holding.com are also available in Italian, and present substantially identical graphic design and content;

ii. subject to the prior opening of an account via the registration procedure, which is also available to Italian users, potential investors are offered the opportunity to trade in “over 200 assets” including currencies, cryptocurrencies, commodities and shares, through the Metatrader4 digital platform, on the websites https://aspenholding.co and https://aspen-holding.com;

iii. in order to perform trading transactions a cash investment must be made, paying sums into an account opened on line; specifically, there are five types of account, named “Bronze”, “Silver”, “Gold”, “Platinum” and “Diamond”, depending on the deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. on both websites, the “Contacts” section states that “AspenHolding” is owned and managed by Next Trade Ltd, with stated address in Vanuatu; in addition, on the website https://aspen-holding.com, there are also references to TLC Consulting Ltd, with stated address in the Marshall Islands, alongside those to Next Trade Limited.

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 21052 of 19 September 2019, which ordered the company Next Trade LTD to cease the infringement of art. 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate website www.olympusmarkets.com;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the activity carried out through the aforementioned websites can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in art. 1, paragraph 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 through the websites https://aspenholding.co and https://aspen-holding.com are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the website is also available in Italian;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the companies mentioned in the websites are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since they do not appear 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, paragraph 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 to the Italian public, in infringement of art. 18, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that, according to the provisions of art. 7-octies, letter b) 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 over the Internet without being qualified therefore pursuant to this decree: […] b) order the cessation of the infringement';

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

RESOLVES:

To order the cessation of the infringement of art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the websites https://aspenholding.co and https://aspen-holding.com, consisting in 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.

October 31^st, 2019

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona