Resolution no. 21381

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.dgxltd.com website

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 www.dgxltd.com website, it emerged that:

i. potential investors are offered the opportunity, through the www.dgxltd.com website, which is active and also available in Italian, and subject to prior opening of an account via the registration process which is also available for Italian users, to trade CFDs involving currencies and cryptocurrencies and on shares;

ii. in order to trade, a cash investment is required by making a payment into the account opened online; in particular, six types of account are available, called "Basic", "Bronze", "Silver", "Gold", "Platinum" and "Black", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised. With particular reference to the "Black" account, the site states that it is "reserved to exclusive customers" and indicates that the "Account Manager" must be contacted for further information;

iii. as for the links to the site in question, the section of the site headed "our company" mentions the company Digital Exchange Limited. In addition, according to the information set out in the "Terms and Conditions", the said Digital Exchange Limited is allegedly the contractual counterparty of a user who registers with the www.dgxltd.com. site. The abovementioned "Terms and conditions" also state that "Digital Exchange Limited is owned and operated by Securex Plus Solutions EOOD", allegedly based in Bulgaria;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website www.dgxltd.com 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 aforementioned transactions, carried out through the www.dgxltd.com website, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors since the website is also available in Italian and a telephone number with an Italian prefix is indicated in the "Contact us" section of the site. In addition to this, there have also been reports of cold calling of members of the public in Italy by individuals linked to the said www.dgxltd.com website;

WHEREAS Digital Exchange Limited and Securex Plus Solutions EOOD, both mentioned on this 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 art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the website www.dgxltd.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.

May 21, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona