Resolution no. 21161

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://activbroker.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://activbroker.com, it emerged that:

i. thehttps://activbroker.com website is active and also available in Italian;

ii. the https://activbroker.com website offers - subject to registration and opening of a trading account, the opportunity of carrying out 'a wide range of financial investments' through a 'clear and functional' platform and the assistance of a dedicated 'analyst'; there is a menu on the 'Trading Floor' page of the website where there is a choice of 'Assets', represented by FOREX, COMMODITIES, STOCKS, INDICES, CRYPTOCURRENCY;

iii. in order to perform trading transactions, a cash investment is required, to be paid into an account opened online; in particular, seven types of account are offered called 'Basic', 'Silver', 'Gold', 'Platinum', 'Black', 'Diamond', 'Prestige' depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. there are numerous references on the site to the company 'ActivBroker LTD UK' with its alleged registered office in London, an Italian telephone number (+39 0240043103) and several email addresses, including one specifically dedicated to Italian investors (support.ita@activbroker.com);

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 21034 of 3 September 2019, which ordered the company 'ActivBroker Ltd' to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate website www.criptolux.com;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://activbroker.com can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in Article 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;

WHEREAS the aforementioned operations, performed through the website https://activbroker.com, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the website is available in Italian and there have been reports of cold calling the Italian public;

WHEREAS the company ActivBroker Ltd mentioned on the website is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear on the dedicated register kept 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 through the Internet without being qualified 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 website https://activbroker.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.

November 27^th, 2019

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona