Resolution no. 21480

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 website www.northfintechfx.co and www.northfintechfx.trade registration page

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 website www.northfintechfx.co is active and offers users the opportunity of trading on the Forex market, on cryptoassets, indices and commodities;

ii. registration with the site and opening of an account to deposit funds are required in order to be able to trade;

iii. by registering with the website www.northfintechfx.co, access is gained to the reserved area which can be reached through the www.northfintechfx.tradeURL, where, among other things, it is possible to deposit sums of money into an account and carry out trades;

iv. the contractual terms and conditions of the www.northfintechfx.com site mention NorthfintechFX Trading Services Ltd, with stated address in Saint Vincent and The Grenadines;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website www.northfintechfx.co and the www.northfintechfx.trade page 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, conducted through the www.northfintechfx.co and www.northfintechfx.trade domains, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors insofar as there have been reports of cold calling members of the public in Italy;

WHEREAS NorthfintechFX Trading Services Ltd is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear on the register kept 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 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 the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the website www.northfintechfx.co and the www.northfintechfx.trade registration page, 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.

September 2, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona