Resolution no. 21791

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 https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.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 audits on the websites https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.com ascertained that:

i. the websites are active and also available in Italian;

ii. subject to prior opening of an account via the registration process, which is also available to Italian users, the websites https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.com offer potential investors the opportunity to trade CFDs on shares, indices and commodities through the Metatrader4 platform;

iii. in order to carry out such transactions, users must deposit funds in their online account; specifically, both websites offer various types of account depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised; In particular, on the website https://vitafx.com three types of account are advertised named "VitafxStart", "VitafxPro" and "VitafxVIP", while on the website https://pluton500.com seven types of account are website named "Micro", "Standard", "Argento", "Gold", "Premium", "AT Standard" and "AT Argento";

iv. regarding traceability of the websites https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.com, at the bottom of the home page of both the websites the company Vita Impex Ltd with registered office in London is indicated;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.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 aforementioned activity, carried out through the websites https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.com, is still ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the websites are available in Italian;

WHEREAS the company Vita Impex Ltd mentioned on the websites https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.com is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not registered on the dedicated register held by CONSOB pursuant to art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence to provide investment services and activities as per 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 Stock brokerage 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 provisions of article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - "Powers to counteract unauthorised activity"- pursuant to which 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 art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the websites https://vitafx.com and https://pluton500.com, consisting in the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties 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.

8 April 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona