Resolution no. 22211

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 put in place through the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co 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 24th February 1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that audits on the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co websites ascertained that:

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

ii. potential investors are offered the opportunity through the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co websites, to trade CFDs with underlying currencies, shares, indices and commodities, after having opened an account via a registration process which is also available to Italian users;

iii. in order to trade, users must deposit funds in their online account; specifically, all the websites offer various types of account depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised. In particular, on thehttps://clydetrade.pro and https://clydetrade.co websites, there are three types of account referred to as "Simple", "Advanced" and "Profession"; the https://sierrainvest.pro website lists four types of accountreferred to as "Beginner", "Advanced", "Progressive" and "Professional", while the https://battletrade.co website mentions three types of account referred to as "Mini", "Standard" and "VIP";

iv. as to traceability of the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co websites, the company Tetris Group Ltd with its registered office in the Commonwealth of Dominica is indicated at the foot of the home pages of the sites;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co 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 orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments can be issued;

WHEREAS the aforementioned transactions, carried out through the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co websites, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since these domains can also be consulted in Italian and there have also been reports ofcold calls being made to retail investors in Italy;

WHEREAS the company Tetris Group Ltd mentioned on the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co websites is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not listed in 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 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 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 article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 conducted through the https://clydetrade.pro, https://clydetrade.co, https://sierrainvest.pro and https://battletrade.co websites, 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.

16 February 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona