Resolution no. 22277

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.live and https://fincloud.centre websites and relevant https://webtrader.fincloud.live web page

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. any user attempting to access thehttps://fincloud.live website is automatically routed to the separate https://fincloud.center domain;

ii. potential investors are offered the opportunity through the https://fincloud.center website – which is active, available in Italian and registered anonymously – to trade CFDs on currencies, indices, commodities and shares;

iii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the https://fincloud.center website – through a procedure that is also available for Italian users – access their personal area – which can also be accessed through the separate https://webtrader.fincloud.live web page – open a trading account and deposit the necessary funds;

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

v. as for traceability, the "Terms and Conditions" section of the https://fincloud.center site contains generic references to "Fincloud". Moreover, the separate "Contacts" section of the https://fincloud.center website contains references to an address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an email address specifically for Italian users as well as a telephone number with an Italian country code;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://fincloud.live and https://fincloud.center websites and relevant https://webtrader.fincloud.liveweb page constitutes 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 opportunity through the aforementioned domains to open a trading account and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned transactions, carried out through the https://fincloud.live and https://fincloud.center websites and relevant https://webtrader.fincloud.live web page, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors, given that, as mentioned, the https://fincloud.center website is available in Italian and an e-mail address and a telephone number specifically for Italian users are made available on the same website. Moreover, reports of investment solicitation, by cold calling retail investors in Italy, have been recorded for the https://fincloud.live website;

WHEREAS "Fincloud", with its stated registered address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, because it does not appear on the register kept 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 authorised 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.live and https://fincloud.center websites and relevant https://webtrader.fincloud.live web page, 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.

24 March 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona