Resolution no. 22181

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://fincloud.capital website

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://fincloud.capital 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://fincloud.capital website – through a procedure that is also available for Italian users – open a trading accountand deposit the necessary funds;

iii. in particular, the https://fincloud.capital website lists six types of account, referred to as "Start", "Standard", "Silver", "Gold", "Platinum" and "Diamond", depending on the benefits promised;

iv. as far as traceability is concerned, it states that "this website is owned by Surreptitious Group LLC", with its stated registered address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Moreover, the "Contacts" section of the https://fincloud.capital website contains an email address specifically dedicated to Italian users and a telephone number with an Italian country code;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://fincloud.capital website constitutes the provision of investment services pursuant to article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, given that through the said site users are offered the opportunity to open a trading account where they can place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS such activity, carried out through thehttps://fincloud.capital website, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as said website is also available in Italian. Moreover, in the "Contacts" section of the https://fincloud.capital website, there is an email address specifically dedicated to Italian users and a telephone number with an Italian country code;

WHEREAS Surreptitious Group LLC, with its stated registered address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear on 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://fincloud.capital website, 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