Resolution no. 22461

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://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites and the relevant https://n-pro.trade webpage

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 https://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites– which have similar content and graphic format – are both active, registered anonymously, available in Italian and attributable to the same Company Dulcet Group LLC, based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;

ii. in particular, the https://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites offer users the opportunity to trade CFDson currencies and indices and on shares via the same platform hosted on the separate domain https://n-pro.trade;

iii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the https://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites – through a procedure that is also available for Italian users – open an account and deposit the necessary funds;

iv. in particular, four types of account are listed on the https://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites, referred to as "Standard", "Golden", "Premium" and "VIP", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through thehttps://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites and relative https://n-pro.trade webpage,constitutes the provision of investment services, as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as users are presented with the possibility through the aforementioned domains of opening a trading account and placing orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the https://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites and relative https://n-pro.trade webpage, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the said domains are available in Italian and no mechanism was found anywhere on them to block registration by users attempting to register from Italy/through Italian IP addresses. In addition, complaints were received from Italian savers in relation to the initiatives promoted through the https://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites;

WHEREAS Dulcet Group LLC, with its registered address in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, mentioned on the https://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not enrolled 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 licensed 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://northprofit.co and https://northprofit.cc websites and relevant https://n-pro.trade webpage, consisting in offering and providing investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the all 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.

28 September 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona