Resolution no. 21473

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.tfx25.co.uk 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.tfx25.co.uk website, it emerged that:

i. potential investors are offered the opportunity through the www.tfx25.co.uk website, which is also available in Italian, to trade CFDs relating to currencies and shares;

ii. in order to be able to trade, registration with the site - through the registration procedure which is also available for Italian users - the opening of an account and payment of a sum of money are required;

iii. in particular, the website www.tfx25.co.ukoffers four types of account called 'Silver', 'Micro', 'Personal', and 'VIP', depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. as for traceability, in the website www.tfx25.co.uk there are generic references on the site to the brand "tfx25". In addition, in the document called "terms and conditions", the same brand "Tfx25" is indicated as the counterparty of the user who registers on the website in question and opens an account there;

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 21270 of 19 February 2020, which ordered "Tfx25" to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the separate https://tfx25.com website;

HAVING CONSIDERED that, in addition to using a domain that is partially superimposable on the domain of the aforementioned website, https://tfx25.com, the website www.tfx25.co.uk replicates the graphic format and content of the https://tfx25.com site;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website www.tfx25.co.uk 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 transactions, carried out through the www.tfx25.co.uk website, are still ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, since the website is also available in Italian;

WHEREAS "Tfx25", mentioned on this website www.tfx25.co.uk, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not registered 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 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 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 article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - 'Powers to counteract abusive practices' - CONSOB 'may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities over the Internet without being qualified to do so pursuant to this decree: […] b) order the cessation of the infringement';

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 performed through the website www.tfx25.co.uk, 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.

July 29, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona