Resolution no. 21264

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 carried out through the website https://plus500cy.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 supplements;

HAVING REGARD TO Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the website https://plus500cy.com, it emerged that:

i. the website https://plus500cy.com, which is also available in Italian, offers potential investors the opportunity - after registration, which is also available to Italian users, of opening an account and payment of the relative funds - to trade CFDs on currencies, indices, commodities and shares;

ii. a cash investment is required in order to trade, by making a payment into an account opened online; in particular, the website https://plus500cy.com offers four types of account called 'Micro', 'Standard', 'Premium' and 'VIP', depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iii. the 'contact' section of the website indicates the company Fintrade Limited, with its registered address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the same section also provides e-mail addresses and a telephone number with an Italian dialling code;WHEREAS the activity carried out through this website 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;

WHEREAS the above described transactions, carried out through the websitehttps://plus500cy.com, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors as the website is also available in Italian, the 'contact' section of the website indicates a telephone number with an Italian dialling code and there have been reports of unsolicited telephone calls (so-called 'cold calling') to the Italian public;

WHEREAS the company Fintrade Limited, with its registered address in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as mentioned on the websites, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not enrolled on 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

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 art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the website https://plus500cy.com, consisting of the offering and 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.

February 12, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona