Resolution no. 21822

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.finlay.capital website and the https://finlay.cc and https://webtrader.finlay.cc domains

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. potential investors are offered the opportunity through the www.finlay.capital website, which is active and available in Italian, to trade on the forex market in CFDs with underlying indices, commodities and shares through the Metatrader 4 platform;

ii. there are six types of account available on the site known as "Test", "Standard", "Trader", "Premium", "Gold" and "VIP", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iii. in order to trade, itis necessary to register with the site through an online procedure through which you access the reserved area where you can create a trading account, make deposits into the trading account and select the "WEBTRADER" link, through which you are redirected to the trading platform hosted on the additional https://webtrader.finlay.cc domain.

iv. the https://webtrader.finlay.cc page is also related to the https://finlay.cc domain, available in Italian, which is a loginpage for entering the credentials to access the reserved area and the aforementioned tradingplatform;

v. as to traceability, the company Widdershins Group Ltd with its registered address in the Commonwealth of Dominica is indicated at the foot of the www.finlay.capital website pages;

vi. the website also contains an email address on the contacts page, specifically dedicated to Italian users (compliance.it@finlay.capital);

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the www.finlay.capital, https://finlay.cc domains and the relative https://webtrader.finlay.cc 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 above domains, is ongoing and targets Italian investors, given that the www.finlay.capital, https://finlay.cc and https://webtrader.finlay.cc domains can be consulted in Italian and reports have been received of solicitation of investments through cold calling Italian investors. Moreover, the www.finlay.capital website also contains an email address specifically dedicated to Italian users;

WHEREAS the Widdershins Group Ltd mentioned on the website

www.finlay.capital website, to which it is believed that the additional domains are also attributable, is not authorised to engage in the provision of 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 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 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 carried out through the www.finlay.capital website and the https://finlay.cc and https://webtrader.finlay.cc domains, consisting in offering and providing investment services and activities to the Italian public.

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

28 April 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona