Resolution no. 21200

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 www.2dots.it

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 www.2dots.it:

i. potential investors are offered the opportunity, through the website www.2dots.it, which is also available in Italian, after opening an account through the registration procedure which is also available to Italian users, of trading CFDs on currencies, indices, commodities and shares;

ii. in order to trade, a cash investment is requested, which is paid into an account opened online; there are five different types of account available - depending on the minimum deposit requested and the benefits proposed - called "Base", "Bronzo", "Argento", "Oro", "Platino" and "Nero";

iii. as regards the owner of the website in question, at the bottom of the pages of the website and in the document and "Terms and conditions", we read that "2dots is owned and managed by Webnet Ltd, which is established in Luxembourg";

WHEREAS moreover that the website www.2dots.it has exactly the same content and graphic format of the website www.2dots.com, which belongs to the companies Webnet Ltd and 4COM NETWORK S.R.L, that received Resolution no. 20974 of 19 June 2019, adopted pursuant to article 7- octies, letter b) of the TUF, pursuant to which the above companies were ordered to forthwith cease any further infringement of article 18 of the Tuf through the website www.2dots.com;

WHEREAS the services offered through the website www.2dots.it are considered to be investment services, pursuant to article 1, paragraph 5, of the Tuf, given that clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account on which purchase and/or sale orders for financial instruments may be issued;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, performed through the website www.2dots.it, is still ongoing and is addressed to Italian investors, given that the website is also available in Italian, and there have been reports of cold calling members of the public in Italy;

WHEREAS Webnet Ltd, mentioned on this website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, given that it does not appear to be registered with the register held by Consob pursuant to article 20 of the Tuf;

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 services in question qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in infringement of article 18, paragraph 1 of the Tuf;

GIVEN that, according to the provisions of article 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 transactions 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;

HEREBY RESOLVES:

To order the cessation of the infringement of art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the website www.2dots.it consisting of the offering and provision of investment services and transactions 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