Resolution no. 21247

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 www.aurum.co, https://aurumprofin.cc and https://aurum-pro-finance.cc domains

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.aurumpro.co, it emerged that:

i. potential investors are offered the opportunity through the website www.aurumpro.co, subject to prior opening of an account via the registration process, to trade in CFDs with currencies and other assets as their underlying assets through the MT4 platform;

ii. in order to trade, a cash investment is required, to be paid into an account opened online; in particular, there are five types of account available known as “Blue”, “Silver”, “Gold”, “Elite” and “Islamic”, depending on the minimum deposit and the benefits promised;

iii. following registration, users will have access to a private area which may also be consulted in Italian and can be reached via the web address https://aurumprofin.cc and https://aurum- pro-finance.cc;

iv. the website www.aurumpro.co contains an email address specifically dedicated to Italian users (compliance.it@aurumpro.co);

v. references to the company Muller Enterprise Ltd are found on the site in question with alleged registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through www.aurumpro.co, https://aurumprofin.cc and https://aurum-pro-finance.cc 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 orders for purchase and/or sale of financial instruments can be issued;

WHEREAS the aforementioned operations, carried out through www.aurumpro.co, https://aurumprofin.cc and https://aurum-pro-finance.cc, are ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, insofar as, within the website in question, there is an email address specifically dedicated to Italian users, furthermore the registration pages and the private area of the website are also available in Italian;

WHEREAS the company Muller Enterprise Ltd is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does 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 through the Internet without being qualified pursuant to this decree: […] b) order that the infringement cease”;

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 www.aurumpro.co, https://aurumprofin.cc and https://aurum-pro-finance.cc 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.

January 28, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona