Resolution no. 23057

Order, pursuant to Article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") to terminate the violation of Article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the websites www.immediateeurax24.com and www.immediateeurax.net

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 audits on the www.immediateeurax24.com and www.immediateeurax.net websites ascertained that:

1. the two websites, which are active and also available in Italian and with completely similar content, offer the opportunity to trade with third parties upon registration;
2. in particular, the websites immediateeurax24.com and www.immediateeurax.net state that "the Immediate Eurax 24 platform offers its users the flexibility of two distinct trading methods: manual and fully automated" and that "Immediate Eurax 24 is a solution that improves/facilitates trading processes by connecting traders with reliable brokers that offer a wide range of assets such as cryptocurrencies, Forex, CFDs and shares";
3. the three steps to trade are indicated in the aforementioned websites: register ("complete the simple registration form"), pay sums of money ("to start, it is enough to deposit an initial investment of at least 250 dollars in your account") and invest ("Click on Trade now to take advantage of the full potential of our brand new software");
4. after registering on the two websites, the user is automatically redirected to different web pages of third-party brokers where platforms are available to trade instruments such as shares, CFDs, indices and currencies;
5. as to traceability, the website immediateeurax24.com and the website www.immediateeurax.net present references to the "Immediate Eurax 24" with alleged registered office in Singapore;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the websites www.immediateeurax24.com and www.immediateeurax.net is attributable to the provision of investment services, i.e. promotion and placement by means of remote communication techniques of investment services provided by third parties, an activity governed by Articles 32 of the Consolidated Law on Finance and 125 of Regulation no. 20307/18 and reserved for intermediaries authorised pursuant to Article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance to provide the placement service referred to in Article 1, paragraph 5, letters c) and c-bis) of the Consolidated Law on Finance: in this regard, users are offered the opportunity, upon registration, to open a trading account on platforms attributable to third parties and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the websites www.immediateeurax24.com and www.immediateeurax.net is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as said domains can be consulted in Italian and no mechanism was found to block registration by users attempting to register with the websites from Italy through Italian IP addresses and there have been reports of cold calling of retail investors in Italy;

WHEREAS the www.immediateeurax24.com and www.immediateeurax.net websites cannot be attributed 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 commercial 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 activities in question qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in breach of Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD to the provisions of Article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - "Powers to counteract unauthorised provision of investment services" - pursuant to which 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 that the 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 art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the websites www.immediateeurax24.com and www.immediateeurax.net, consisting in the provision of investment services and activities 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.

28 March 2024

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona