Resolution no. 22010

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 https://platinex.co and the respective page https://client.platinex.co/dashboard

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 the checks carried out, it emerged that:

i. the website https://platinex.co - which is active and registered under the company Lithe Group LTD - is composed of the sections “About us”, “Invest”, “Platforms”, “Accounts”, “Tools” and “Support”. Furthermore, after opening one of the advertised trading accounts, the website offers the possibility to carry out forex transactions and trade CFDs and instruments based on indices, shares and commodities;

ii. to carry out such transactions, users must register with the website https://platinex.co, through a process that is also available for users connecting from Italy after registering, where it is then possible to access the reserved area at the address https://client.platinex.co/dasboard which offers several features, including a special function dedicated to depositing funds on the trading account;

iii. in particular, three types of account are indicated on the website referred to as “Standard”, “Pro” and “Expert” which vary according to the minimum deposit required and the promised benefits;

iv. as to the traceability of the websitehttps://platinex.co, at the bottom of the pages of such website references are made to “Lithe Group LTD” and the document“Terms and Conditions” states that “Lithe Group LTD is a trading company whose registered office is 8 Copthall, Roseau Valley, 00152 Commonwealth of Dominica with registration number: 2021/IBC00011)”. The website also contains the e-mail inbox support@platinex.co

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://platinex.co and the relevant page https://client.platinex.co/dasboardconstitute the provision of investment services, as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as users are offered the possibility through the aforementioned domains to open a trading account on which it is possible to issue purchase and/or sale orders relating to financial instruments;

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

WHEREAS “Lithe Group LTD”, mentioned on this website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear 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 authorisation 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 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 article 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 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 Legislative Decree no. 58/98 carried out through the website https://platinex.co and the relevant page https://client.platinex.co/dasboard, constituting the offer and provision of 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.

22 September 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona