Resolution no. 21197

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://welttrades.com and https://it.welttrades.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://welttrades.com, it emerged that:

i. the https://welttrades.com website is active and also available in Italian at https://it.welttrades.com;

ii. after registration, the site in question provides the opportunity of trading online in 'several different trading instruments', including currency pairs on the Forex market, using an 'innovative online platform';

iii. in order to perform trading transactions, a cash investment is required, to be paid into an account opened online; in particular, there are four different types of trading account available called 'Standard', 'Classic', 'Gold' and 'Premium', which differ depending on the benefits promised and the minimum deposit required;

iv. the home page of the site in question contains the details of Game Capital Ads Limited, which is also mentioned in the 'Terms and conditions' as the contractual counterparty of the potential investor. At the bottom of every page of the site in question there is an address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

CONSIDERING Consob Resolutions nos. 20806 of 6 February 2019, 21036 of 3 September 2019, 21092 of 25 September 2019 and 21160 of 27 November 2019 with which the company Game Capital Ads Limited, which on those occasions alleged its registered office was at St. Vincent and the Grenadines and/or in Bulgaria and/or in the United Kingdom and/or in Switzerland, had already been ordered to put a stop to the infringement being carried out of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance, with reference to Resolution no. 20806, through the 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 websites, with reference to Resolution no. 21036, through the www.capitalgbp.com website, with reference to Resolution no. 21092, through the https://it.247worldbtcfx.com website and, with reference to Resolution no. 21160, through the https://360worldbtc.com and https://it.360worldbtc.com domains;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through https://welttrades.com and https://it.welttrades.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 https://welttrades.com and https://it.welttrades.com, are ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the website is available in Italian through the https://it.welttrades.com domain;

WHEREAS the company Game Capital Ads Limited, mentioned on the said web pages, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it does not appear in the register kept by Consob pursuant to article 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 article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - 'Powers to counteract abusive practices' - CONSOB 'may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities over the Internet without being qualified to do so 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 article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through https://welttrades.com and https://it.welttrades.com, consisting in offering and providing 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.

December 18, 2019

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona