Resolution no. 22267

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://globalx-trade.com and the respective page https://client.globalx-trade.com

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 website https://globalx-trade.com, which is available in Italian, offers users the possibility to trade CFDs on currencies, cryptocurrencies, indices and commodities;

ii. in order to be able to trade, users must register with the site at the page https://client.globalx-trade.com and open an account and finally deposit the necessary funds. In particular, four types of accounts are advertised, referred to as "Beginners", "Medium", "Retirement" and "VIP", which differ according to the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised; All four types of account offered allow customers to use a service referred to "Personal account manager";

iii. as for the traceability of the website https://globalx-trade.com, mention is made of the name "Global X Trade", without providing any further corporate references;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://globalx-trade.com and the respective page https://client.globalx-trade.comis deemed to constitute 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 and place buy and/or sell orders on financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the website https://globalx-trade.com and the respective page https://client.globalx-trade.com, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since the website is available in Italian;

WHEREAS the website https://globalx-trade.com and the relevant page https://client.globalx-trade.com cannot be attributed to any entity authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence in order to provide investment services, 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 fact that, as per article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance entitled "Powers to counteract unauthorised activity",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 that such infringement must 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. 58/1998 carried out through the website https://globalx-trade.com and the respective page https://client.globalx-trade.com, constituted by the 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.

16 March 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona