Resolution no. 21719

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.globalcfd.co website and its page https://client.globalcfd.co

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.globalcfd.co website, it emerged that:

i. it is available in Italian and has content similar to that previously recorded on the separate websites https://globalinvestfx.com and https://marketsfx.co;

ii. the website www.globalcfd.co offers the possibility of trading CFDs and futures with currencies, shares, indices and commodities as their underlying assets, through a dedicated trading platform;

iii. to be able to trade, users must register at https://client.globalcfd.co and open an account to deposit the necessary funds. In this regard, the website www.globalcfd.co offers three account types, called "Mini", "Classic" and "Premium", differing by minimum deposit and associated services. However, in the contractual terms of the website itself, reference is made to five types of account as follows: "Micro Account", "Standard Account", "Silver Account", "Gold Account" and "VIP Account";

iv. as for the links to the website in question, the contractual terms and the document containing the "Privacy Policy" of the website itself mention the companies "Globalcfd LTD" and "D&D Venture Project LTD". The privacy document mentioned above specifies that "Globalcfd LTD" would be based in Birmingham. Instead, at the bottom of the pages of the website, only the above-mentioned "D&D Venture Project LTD" is indicated. Finally, the website's contact page contains a London address.

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolutions no. 21568 of 29 October 2020 and no. 21589 of 19 December 2020, whereby the company D&D Venture Project LTD was ordered to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the https://globalinvestfx.com and https://marketsfx.co websites, respectively;

WHEREAS activity carried out through the website www.globalcfd.co and relative https://client.globalcfd.co 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, carried out through the websitewww.globalcfd.co and the relevant page https://client.globalcfd.co is still ongoing, and is aimed at Italian investors, since the aforementioned website is available in Italian and since there have been reports of cold calling of retail investors in Italy;

WHEREAS the companies "Globalcfd LTD" and "D&D Venture Project LTD" mentioned on the website are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as their are not listed in 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 Italian Investment firms, EU investment firms, Italian banks, EU banks and non-EU firms";

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 performed through the website www.globalcfd.coand its relative https://client.globalcfd.co 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.

February 10, 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona