Resolution no. 22329

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 performed through the website https://unionsmarket.group

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://unionsmarket.group - which is active and registered anonymously - offers potential investors the opportunity to trade on forex and stock markets;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the website https://unionsmarket.group by opening an account and depositing the necessary funds; specifically, the website https://unionsmarket.group advertises three types of account, referred to as "Standard", "Professional" and "Premium", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iii. the footer of the pages of the website https://unionsmarket.group contains a statement affirming that the website "is owned and operated by Bodacious Consulting LLC" with stated registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;

iv. the contact section of the website contains a form for requesting information and support and provides the email address technical_support@unionsmarket.group;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the websitehttps://unionsmarket.group is deemed to constitute the provision of investment services pursuant to article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, given that users are offered the opportunity through said domain to open a tradingaccount and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, given that there have been reports ofcold calling towards Italian retail investors regarding the website;

WHEREAS Bodacious Consulting LLC, as mentioned on the website https://unionsmarket.group, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it is not listen 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 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://unionsmarket.group 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.

4 May 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona