Resolution no. 21379

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 www.fxlinked.com and www.forexlinked.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 website, it emerged that:

i. the www.fxlinked.com website, attributed to FXlinked Ltd with its alleged registered office in Nigeria, offers users the opportunity of trading on CFDs involving currencies and commodities and on shares;

ii. in order to be able to trade as mentioned above, the user must register with the site through the registration procedure which is also available for Italian users, access their personal area and deposit a sum of money;

iii. domesticthere is a link in the above mentioned personal area that redirects the user to the separate www.forexlinked.com website;

iv. the www.forexlinked.com website, which is also available in Italian, offers potential investors the opportunity, subject to prior opening of an account via the registration process also available to Italian users, to trade CFDs involving currencies and shares;

v. as regards the ownership of the website, at the bottom of the www.forexlinked.com website pages, it states that 'the site is "owned and operated by the FXLinked Group of companies, which includes: FXLinked (SV) LTD", with its alleged registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, "FXLinked (Europa) LIMITED", with its alleged registered office in the United Kingdom, and "FXLinked (Seychelles) LTD", with its alleged registered office in the Seychelles';

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the www.fxlinked.com and www.forexlinked.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 activities described above, carried out through the www.fxlinked.com and www.forexlinked.com websites, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors, as, with reference to the www.fxlinked.com website, which is not available in Italian, there have been reports of cold calling the Italian public, and, regarding the www.forexlinked.com website, it is available in Italian;

WHEREAS FXlinked Ltd, with its alleged address in Nigeria,mentioned on the www.fxlinked.com website, and FXLinked (SV) LTD, with its alleged address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, FXLinked (Europa) LIMITED, with its alleged address in the United Kingdom, and FXLinked (Seychelles) LTD, with its alleged address in the Seychelles, mentioned on the www.forexlinked.com website, are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as they are not enrolled 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 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 www.fxlinked.com and www.forexlinked.com websites, consisting in 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.

May 21, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona