Resolution no. 23210

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 www.mestieriplaza.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, 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, from checks on the web, it emerged that:

i. potential investors are offered the opportunity, through the www.mestieriplaza.co website – which is active, available in Italian and registered anonymously – to trade contracts on currencies, CFDs and cryptocurrencies, using a dedicated trading platform;

ii. in order to place trading transactions, users must register with the website, through a process that is also available to users connecting from Italy, and open a trading account; specifically, four different types of account are advertised on the website ("Bronzo" (Bronze), "Argento" (Silver), "Oro" (Gold) and "Platino" (Platinum) which differ, moreover, according to the minimum required deposit; in addition, there is a section on the website entitled "Affiliates", in which it is indicated that Mestieriplaza also provides its services "through the help of affiliates… that deal with marketing";

iii. as to traceability, the website www.mestieriplaza.co contains references to "Mestieriplaza" with its alleged registered office in London;

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 23116 of 14 May 2024, whereby "Mestieriplaza" was ordered to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate www.mestieriplaza.com website;

WHEREAS, in addition to using a domain that is similar to the domain of the aforementioned www.mestieriplaza.com website, the www.mestieriplaza.co website replicates the content and graphic format of the former website;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website www.mestieriplaza.co constitutes the provision of investment services within the meaning of article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, given that users are offered the opportunity to open a trading account and place buy and/or sell orders on financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the www.mestieriplaza.co website is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian retail investors, insofar as the website is available in Italian and no mechanism has been found to block registration by users attempting to register with said website from Italy, through Italian IP addresses. In addition, in relation to the website www.mestieriplaza.co, reports have been received from Italian retail investors who have been contacted by "Mestieriplaza";

WHEREAS the www.mestieriplaza.co website is not linked 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 over the Internet without being qualified to do so pursuant to this decree: […] b) order the cessation of the breach";

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 www.mestieriplaza.co website, 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 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.

17 July 2024

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona