Resolution no. 22367

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://dolfinindex.com website and the respective https://client.dolfinindex.com 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. through the https://dolfinindex.com website, which is active and registered anonymously, potential investors are offered the opportunity to trade CFDs relating to currencies;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the https://dolfinindex.com website – through a procedure that is also available for Italian users on the https://client.dolfinindex.com page, which can be reached directly from the homepage of the https://dolfinindex.com website – open a trading account and deposit the relevant funds;

iii. in particular, four types of account are listed on the https://dolfinindex.com website, referred to as “Micro”, “Standard”, “Premium” and “VIP”, depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. as to traceability, at the bottom of the pages on the https://dolfinindex.com site, Dolfinindex Ltd is mentioned; in the separate “Terms and Conditions” section of the said https://dolfinindex.com domain, it states that “This website is owned and operated by FX Publications, INC”: with reference to both the aforementioned companies, no information was found on the https://dolfinindex.com site regarding their respective registered offices or any other contact details;

HAVING REGARD to Consob resolutions no. 21978 of 29 July 2021, no. 22092 of 25 November 2021, no. 22148 of 22 December 2021 and no. 22298 of 6 April 2022 whereby FX Publications, INC was ordered to cease the infringement of Article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out, in this order, through the separate https://primaatrade.com website and the relevant https://client.primaatrade.com page, through the separate https://primea-trade24.com domain and the relevant https://client.primea-trade24.com page, through the further https://acetopfin.com website and its respective https://accounts.acetopfin.com page, as well as through the https://alphaforex.eu website and the relevant https://client.alphaforex.eu page;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://dolfinindex.com website and relevant https://client.dolfinindex.com web pageconstitutes 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 activity, carried out through the https://dolfinindex.com website and the relevant https://client.dolfinindex.com page, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since there have been reports of cold calling of Italian retail investors by parties acting on behalf of the https://dolfinindex.com website and moreover complaints have been received from Italian retail investors regarding the initiatives promoted through the said domains;

WHEREAS FX Publications, INC and Dolfinindex Ltd, both mentioned on the https://dolfinindex.com website, are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since they are not listed in 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://dolfinindex.com website and its respective https://client.dolfinindex.com web page, consisting in offering and providing investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be disclosed to the public through publication in the Consob Bulletin.

This measure may be appealed before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio within 60 days.

16 June 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona