Resolution no. 22180

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://hashtrade.pro website and the https://client.hashtrade.io web domain

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 24th February 1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the web, it emerged that:

i. the https://hashtrade.pro website – which is active and also available in Italian – offers potential investors the opportunity to trade CFDson currencies, indices, commodities and shares;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the https://hashtrade.pro website – through a procedure that is also available for Italian users – access their personal area of the https://hashtrade.pro site – which can also be accessed through the separate https://client.hashtrade.io domain, which is available in Italian – open a trading account and deposit the necessary funds;

iii. in particular, the https://hashtrade.pro website lists four types of account, referred to as "Junior", "Di Mezzo", "Senior" and "Leader", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. as far as traceability is concerned, at the bottom of the pages of the https://hashtrade.pro website, it states that "This website is owned and operated by Xertz Consulting Ltd", with its registered address in the Commonwealth of Dominica;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through thehttps://hashtrade.pro website and the https://client.hashtrade.io web domain constitutes the provision of investment services according to article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, given that users are offered the opportunity through these domains to open a trading account and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the above-described activity, carried out through the https://hashtrade.pro website and the https://client.hashtrade.io web domain, is still ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, given that the aforesaid domains are available in Italian and, in relation to the https://hashtrade.pro site, there have been reports ofcold calls made to retail investors in Italy;

WHEREAS Xertz Consulting Ltd, with its registered address in the Commonwealth of Dominica, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is 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 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 https://hashtrade.pro website and the https://client.hashtrade.io web domain, consisting in offering and providing investment services and transactions 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.

27 January 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona