Resolution no. 21378

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 https://cruxinv.com and https://client.crux24.com websites

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 https://cruxinv.com website, it emerged that:

i. the website is active and available in Italian;

ii. the website gives users the opportunity, after registration and opening of an account, of trading shares and CFDs with underlying currencies, cryptocurrencies and commodities, through a dedicated trading platform;

iii. after registering with the site, among other things, the trading platform available at the separate web address https://client.crux24.com can be accessed;

iv. in order to trade, a cash investment is required, to be paid into an account opened online; in particular, there are four types of account available - depending on the benefits promised - called "Silver", "Gold" "Diamond" and 'VIP';

v. in the "Terms & Conditions" section and at the bottom of the https://cruxinv.com site's web pages, the brand"CruxINV" is generically mentioned;

vi. in the "Contact us" section of the site, under the heading "headquarters", two addresses are present located respectively in Luxembourg and Cyprus together with the e-mail addresses "live.support@cruxinv.com" and "info@cruxinv.com" and a non-Italian telephone number

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://cruxinv.com and https://client.crux24.com websites 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 transactions, carried out through the https://cruxinv.com and https://client.crux24.com websites, are still ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the websites are available in Italian;

WHEREAS the company called "CruxInv" mentioned on the website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear on the register maintained 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 to licensed parties as referred to under article 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which, 'The professional provision of investment services and activities to the public is reserved to 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 https://cruxinv.com and https://client.crux24.com websites, 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.

May 21, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona