Resolution no. 21267

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 websites https://finantik.com and https://client.trading-dashboard.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, it emerged that:

i. potential investors are offered the opportunity through the website https://finantik.com, subject to prior opening of an account via the registration process, which is also available to Italian users, to trade forex and CFDs online;

ii. in order to be able to trade, a cash investment is required to be paid into an account opened online. In particular, the website offers four types of account (called "Classic", "Gold", "Platinum" and "VIP") that differ from each other in relation to the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iii. by selecting one of the linkscalled "Sign Up", "open an account" or "trade now" respectively, you are redirected to the registration page https://client.trading-dashboard.com, where you can also select the Italian language;

iv. at the bottom of the website pages and in the 'Terms and Conditions' it says that “Finantik is a trading name of Pro Star Griffith Corporate Center Beachmont Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that “Pro Star”, with alleged registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, has already been the addressee of two orders pursuantto article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance, adopted by resolution no. 20856 of 20 March 2019 and no. 21098 of 3 October 2019, for its operations through the websites www.traderia.com and www.goldencfd.com;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the websites https://finantik.com and https://client.trading-dashboard.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 activity, performed through the websites https://finantik.com and https://client.trading-dashboard.com is still ongoing and is addressed to Italian investors, given that although the website https://finantik.com is not available in Italian, the registration page https://client-trading-dashboard.com is available in Italian; this is added to the reports of cold calling members of the public in Italy;

WHEREAS “Pro Star”, the company mentioned on this website, 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 carried out through the websites https://finantik.com and https://client.trading-dashboard.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.

February 19, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona