Resolution no. 22910

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 via the website https://sgbfinancesa.io and the related pages https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io

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, as subsequently amended and supplemented;

HAVING REGARD to Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance"), as subsequently amended and supplemented;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that checks conducted on the website https://sgbfinancesa.io showed that:

1. the website, which is also available in Italian, is active and offers the opportunity to trade - through the web trading platform available at the page https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io - in currencies, cryptocurrencies, indices, shares and commodities;
2. in order to place such trades, users must register with the website, access the reserved area at the address https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and deposit funds;
3. specifically, the website https://sgbfinancesa.io lists five types of account, referred to as "Basico", "Standard", "Classico", "Esclusivo" and "Business Esclusivo", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits offered;
4. there is also a section on the website dedicated to an affiliate program which proposes a "Friend Bonus of 25%";
5. as to traceability, in the contractual documentation found on the website, a generic reference is made to "Sgbfinancesa.io" without any indication of the registered office.

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://sgbfinancesa.io and the related pages https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io is deemed to constitute the provision of investment services as per article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account on which they can place buy and/or sell orders for financial instruments;

WHEREAS such activity, which is carried out via the website https://sgbfinancesa.io and the related pages https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io is still ongoing and also aimed at Italian investors, as the website https://sgbfinancesa.io and the related pages https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io are also available in Italian, and reports were received of contacts by means of remote communication;

WHEREAS the website https://sgbfinancesa.io and the related pages https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io cannot be attributed to any entity authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence to provide investment services and activities as per 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 article 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 unauthorised provision of investment services" - Consob "may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities through the Internet without being qualified pursuant to this decree: […] b) order that such infringement cease";

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. 58/1998 carried out through the website https://sgbfinancesa.io and the related pages https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io, consisting in the offering and provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties by email and published in the Consob Bulletin.

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

29 November 2023

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona