Resolution no. 22486

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 via the websitehttps://sureinvest.org and the respective webpage https://private.sureinvest.co

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 website https://sureinvest.org - which is active and also available in Italian, potential investors are offered the possibility of trading shares, CFDs on currencies and cryptocurrencies through a dedicated trading platform;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the website through a procedure that is also available for Italian users, and subsequently open a trading account and deposit the necessary funds. After registration, users can access the reserved area of the website available at the addresshttps://private.sureinvest.co, where it is possible to make deposits on the trading account;

iii. as regards the traceability of the https://sureinvest.org website, the domain contains generic references to the "Sureinvest" with alleged headquarters in St. Vincent and the Grenadines;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://sureinvest.org and the relevant webpage https://private.sureinvest.co is deemed to constitute the provision of investment services, within the meaning of article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, inasmuch as the website offers the possibility of opening a trading account and placing buy and/or sales orders on financial instruments;

WHEREAS the above activity, carried out through the website https://sureinvest.org and the respective webpage https://private.sureinvest.co, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, given that said website is available in Italian, and that it has been reported that remote communication methods have been used to contact Italian consumers and that no mechanism was found to block registration by users attempting to register with the website from Italy/through Italian IP addresses;

WHEREAS the websitehttps://sureinvest.org is not linked to any entity authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public;

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 website https://sureinvest.org and the relevant page https://private.sureinvest.co, which constitutes the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties and will be 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.

19 October 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona