Weekly newsletter - year XXIX - No. 1 - 16 January 2023

News of the week:
Watch for scams! Financial fraud: Consob blacks out 5 more abusive websites
Supervision of corporate governance and related party transactions in the context of offer and admission to trading prospectuses: Warning No. 1/23
Eni Spa: Consob approves the bid and listing of bonds prospectus with sustainability characteristics
Stock exchange smaller than GDP. Profits of listed companies in net improvement. Short sales leap. The snapshot of Piazza Affari in the latest Consob Statistical Bulletin
Activity of the Alternative Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme (ACF) in 2022
Save the date - 26 January 2023 - The investment choices of Italian families, financial culture, innovation and sustainability: Presentation of VIII Consob Report
Investor protection warnings from other regulatory authorities

Other Commission decisions

- NEWS OF THE WEEK -

Consob has ordered the black-out of 5 new websites that offer financial services illegally.

The commission availed itself of the new powers resulting from the 'Decreto Crescita' ('Growth Decree'; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, article 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the sites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- Titancfd (website www.titancfd-fx.com and its pagehttps://platform.titancfd-fx.com).

- Ecc Corp Llc(website https://eccapitals.com and its pages https://ec-capitals.com and https://webtrader.eccapitals.com);

- SevenCapital24 (website https://sevencapital24.com);

- Eudaimon Consulting Llc (website https://stellarfx.co);

- Win Traders (website https://win-traders.com and its page https://client.win-traders.com).

The number of sites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order the black-out of websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries, has thus risen to 820.

The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.

The black-out of these websites by internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.

Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviours, essential to safeguard one's savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom you are investing is authorised, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.

To this end, Consob would remind you that there is a section on the homepage of its website www.consob.it entitled "Watch for scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.

* * *

Consob has also prohibited, pursuant to Article 99, paragraph 1, letter c) of the Consolidated Law on Finance, the offer to the Italian public of financial products relating to "investment plans" using the name "UEFA Football Hedge Fund" made by Uefa Football Fund Ltd including via the website https://uefa2017.com and its page https://www.2016uefa.com (Resolution No. 22556 of 11 January 2023); the offer had already been suspended for a period of 90 days with Resolution No. 22476 of 11 October 2022https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/bollettino/documenti/hide/cautelari/soll/2022/d22476.htm.

* * *

Consob has also prohibited, pursuant to art. 99, paragraph 1, letter c), of the Consolidated Law on Finance, the offer to the public of "investment plans" made by British Trade Limited, including through the website www.britishtradeltd.com (Resolution No. 22558 of 11 January 2023); the offer had already been suspended for a period of 90 days with (Resolution no. 22483 of 19 October 2022).

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As part of the amendments to the provisions of the Issuers' Regulation on the prospectus adopted by Resolution no. 22423 of 28 July 2022 – with the aim of optimising the approval procedures for prospectuses and simplifying their regulations, as well as making access to capital markets more efficient for companies, without affecting the investor protection safeguards – the documents and information that must be attached to the prospectus for admission to listing pursuant to Annex 1C of the aforementioned Regulation do not include the draft procedure on related party transactions ("OPC Procedure") and information on the relevant relationships for the independence of the members of the issuer's corporate bodies, as they are not required by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980 on the directly applicable prospectus.

With this in mind, the Commission, with a Warning (No. 1/23 of 13 January 2023), invites issuers and other parties involved in the listing process to pay attention so that the aspects of corporate governance, such as the OPC procedure and the independence requirements for the members of the corporate bodies that will take up position on the date of commencement of negotiations, are in line with the rules governing listed companies. In particular:

In the light of the market surveillance powers of Consob in matters of corporate governance, the attention of the issuers is therefore drawn to the fact that such checks are carried out before the listing; this in order to avoid any costs deriving, for example, from the need – in the event of an established lack of the requirement of independence for a member of the corporate bodies – to convene, after the listing, a meeting aimed at integrating the corporate body, and the reputational costs deriving, for example, from the adoption, after the admission to listing, of forfeiture measures by Consob of members of the control body declared independent in the listing prospectus.

However, it remains possible for issuers to submit to Consob, even during prefiling, any issues relating to the above in relation to which it would be necessary to carry out a preliminary discussion with the Authority; in this regard, it should be noted that Consob is fully available to provide clarifications on any requests received, according to a timing that takes into account the needs of the issuer and the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall management activity.

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Consob has approved the prospectus concerning the offer and admission to listing on the Electronic Bond Market (MOT), organised and operated by Borsa Italiana Spa, of the bond issue "Eni sustainability-linked bonds 2023/2028".

The document represents the first case of a prospectus submitted for the approval of Consob concerning the offer to retail and the admission to listing of so-called "Sustainability-linked" bonds.

In recent years, the offer of bonds related to sustainability issues has spread in the absence of a regulatory framework applicable to these products. These bonds are not included in the scope of SFDR Regulation No. 2019/2088 and neither does Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 ("Prospectus Regulation") provide specific information in relation to issues with sustainability or environmental ambitions.

In this context, the issuers referred to initiatives and self-regulatory codes issued by trade associations, and in particular to the ICMA principles. In this regard, ICMA has developed over the years a "taxonomy" applicable to bonds and voluntary principles, updated annually, to be adopted by members in order to be able to use the labels proposed in bond issues. With specific reference to the Sustainability-Linked Bonds ("SLB"), the so-called SLBP principles were issued in 2020, whereby the destination of the proceeds of the funding through SLBs is not bound to the loans for specific projects, since the proceeds are intended to be used for the characteristic activity of the issuer.

SLBs are financial instruments with financial and/or structural characteristics that may vary depending on the achievement by the issuer of predefined sustainability/ESG objectives whose achievement is measured by sustainability KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) defined before the issue and evaluated with respect to predefined Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs).

The Eni Group operates globally in the high-tech energy sector and is present throughout the value chain: from the exploration, development and extraction of oil and natural gas, to the generation of electricity from cogeneration and renewable sources, to traditional and bio-based refining and chemistry, up to the development of circular economy processes. The Eni Group extends its reach to the end markets, marketing gas, electricity and products to local markets and retail and business customers, to whom it also offers energy efficiency and sustainable mobility services.

The strategy adopted by Eni aimed at transforming the business model into a sustainable one is based on two objectives: (i) increasing the installed capacity of renewables and (ii) reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In relation to the sustainability objective concerning the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the reference indicator is the so-called Net Carbon Footprint.

On 27 October 2022, the Board of Directors of Eni approved, inter alia, the issuance of fixed-rate, structured or variable-rate, non-convertible, unsecured and non-subordinated bonds, to be offered for subscription in one or more tranches to the general public in Italy and to be admitted to listing on one or more regulated markets, including the MOT (Electronic Bond Market), for a maximum overall amount not exceeding €2 billion.

The transaction covered by the prospectus consists of a public subscription offer and admission to listing on the MOT of a maximum of 1,000,000 Eni bonds, which can be increased up to a maximum of 2,000,000 Eni bonds, with a face value of €1,000 each, intended for the general public in Italy. Therefore, the offer has a maximum amount of €1 billion, which can be increased up to a maximum of €2 billion.

As shown in the prospectus, unlike the provisions for Green Bonds, the net proceeds deriving from the bond are not intended for the loan (even partial) for specific projects or commercial activities that meet environmental or sustainability criteria or that fall within the definitions established in the European Union by Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 ("Regulation on the Taxonomy of Sustainable Finance") and subsequent delegated acts of the Regulation on the Taxonomy of Sustainable Finance. In this regard, the net proceeds from the offer, in line with Eni's financial strategy, will pursue the objective of financing any future needs, maintaining a balanced financial structure and further diversifying financial sources.

Borsa Italiana Spa, on 9 January 2023, has approved the admission to listing of the bonds on the Mot. The start date of trading will be arranged by Borsa Italiana, after verifying the results of the offer.

The offer starts on 16 January 2023 and ends on 3 February 2023, except for early closing.

Eni bonds bear fixed rate interest from the date of enjoyment to the due date and give right to the redemption of the principal at par value, in a single solution. The nominal interest rate is expected to be determined at the end of the offer period ("initial nominal interest rate"), and communicated to the public with a specific supplementary notice published on the website of the issuer and the placement managers, as well as disseminated through the dissemination and storage mechanism, within five working days from the end of the bond offer period. The minimum interest rate was set at 4.30%.

The characteristic that distinguishes the aforementioned bonds (hence the term sustainability-linked bonds) is that, in the event of a certain event ("step-up event"), a margin ("step-up margin") will be added to the initial nominal interest rate exclusively for the purpose of calculating the coupon payable on the due date ("next nominal interest rate" and, together with the initial nominal interest rate, the "interest rate"). The step up event indicates the failure to meet one or both of the following conditions (KPI, Key Performance Indicators): (i) the condition of the installed capacity from renewables; (ii) the condition of the Net Carbon Footprint Upstream.

The condition of installed capacity from renewables indicates the condition that occurs when (i) the installed capacity from renewables at 31 December 2025 is equal to or greater than 5 gw and (ii) "the consolidated non-financial statement pursuant to Legislative Decree 254/2016 or the sustainability performance report, as the case may be, and the related audit report at 31 December 2025 have been published on the issuer's website no later than the relevant deadline for the sustainability performance report.

The condition of the Net Carbon Footprint Upstream indicates the condition that occurs when (i) the Net Carbon Footprint Upstream indicator at 31 December 2025 is equal to or less than 5.2 MtCO2eq and (ii) "the consolidated non-financial statement pursuant to Legislative Decree 254/2016 or the sustainability performance report, as the case may be, and the related audit report at 31 December 2025 have been published on the issuer's website no later than the relevant deadline for reporting on sustainability performance.

As specified in the prospectus, an interest rate increase may occur only once, only following the occurrence of the step-up event and only in relation to the coupon payable on the due date. If the step up event does not occur, the initial nominal interest rate will also be applied for the calculation of the coupon payable on the due date.

The occurrence of the step up event does not constitute a cause of non-fulfilment by the issuer of the obligations related to the bond, nor will it entail an obligation to repurchase or early redemption of the bonds.

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Capitalization of the Stock Exchange in strong contraction with respect to Gross Domestic Product. Equity investments are falling, while those in bonds are growing. The number of listed companies on the Mercato Telematico Azionario (MTA market), the main market in Piazza Affari, has dropped. At the same time the profitability of Italian listed companies is improving markedly. Short sales are on the rise.

A mixed picture, with lights and shadows, emerges from the snapshot of the Italian Stock Exchange taken in the last Consob Statistical Bulletin for the first half of 2022.

The data of the Bulletin, published on the Consob website, outline a declining security market, downgraded to the values of the end of 2020, thus nullifying the gains recorded in 2021 as a result of the robust recovery following the Covid lockdowns.

The indicators describe an uncertain economic picture, which is affected by various negative factors, such as the war in Ukraine, the rise in inflation driven, among other things, by increases in the energy sector and expectations of a tight credit by the European Central Bank, then confirmed by the rate hike decided by the Eurotower.

The decline in share prices has depressed the overall capitalization of Italian listed companies, which as of 30 June fell by 20.5% on a semi-annual basis. In relation to Gross Domestic Product, the market capitalization therefore decreases from 33% at the end of 2021 to 25.4% at the end of June 2022.

The number of listed companies on MTA (-2) is decreasing, while the number of listed companies on Euronext Growth Milan (Egm), the unregulated market dedicated to small and very small companies (the former Aim, Alternative Investment Market) is increasing.

The weight of investments in bonds is growing, in particular those issued by financial companies. On the other hand, the incidence of investments in shares, in particular Italian securities, is decreasing.

The profits of industrial companies listed on the main market (MTA) and on the EGM recorded, as of 30 June, a strong increase, rising respectively to €21.2 billion (from 8.7 billion) and 195 million (from 134 million).

The profits of banks (€7.5 billion from the previous 7.2 billion), insurance (to 3.2 billion from 3.1 billion), while there is a slight decline for other financial companies (to 0.7 billion from 0.8 billion).

Given the bearish expectations on prices due to strong geopolitical tensions, there was a strong growth in the phenomenon of short sales (+38.2% on a semi-annual basis the short net positions compared to 31 December 2021).

The portfolio of securities held by Italian intermediaries is down (-10.3%) and the bank deposits of households and companies (-2.5%). The funding of financial instruments (down 17.6% to 202.5 billion) and insurance products with predominantly financial content (down 30.8 percent to 19.7 billion) by Italian intermediaries also declined in the first half of the year.

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In 2022, Italian savers were awarded substantial compensation by the Alternative Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme (ACF), the body set up at Consob for the out-of-court settlement of disputes between intermediaries and their clients.

In fact, the compensation paid in the year just ended amounted to €18 million, with a per capita average of almost €28 thousand.

Thus, the overall amount of the compensation awarded by the Consob Arbitrator in its first six years of activity rises to €142.5 million, with a rate of acceptance of appeals that amounted to 57.5% in the year just ended.

The rate of voluntary enforcement of decisions by unsuccessful intermediaries continues to be decidedly high (over 96%, both in 2022 and in the entire 2017/2022 period), including some compensation (20) with a unit value ranging between €150,000 and 500,000 (the latter - it is recalled - maximum limit of competence for the value of the Arbitrator).

This is a particularly significant indicator of the effectiveness of the ACF tool and, at the same time, also represents a litmus test of the argumentative and motivational quality of the decisions taken.

The Board has paid the utmost attention to the latter aspect since the beginning of its operations, precisely in view of the non-binding nature of the decisions it takes.

The number of incoming appeals is in appreciable decline: 1,115 in 2022, compared to 1,582 in 2021, for a total of 9,810 appeals filed with the ACF since the start of its operations, in January 2017, to date.

Among the factors that have favoured such a trend, it should be noted, first of all, the progressive tendency to align the operating practices of intermediaries with the application guidelines of the sectoral legislation gradually developed by the ACF Board, which has allowed to sterilize upstream many of the reasons for conflict that have arisen.

The regulatory innovation introduced by Consob at the end of 2021, which limited the scope of the Alternative Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme's operations to disputes relating to investments made no later than the decade prior to the filing of the claim, has undoubtedly contributed to this.

Other additional factors to contain litigations are: the now reduced flow of appeals relating to the placement until 2015, at retail customers, by some local banks, of their own shares then revealed to be illiquid; more generally, the implementation of the MiFid II legislation, which has strengthened the safeguards to protect retail investors, and the general uncertainty generated by the global crises of recent years, which has induced many savers to opt for conservative and low-risk financial choices, of which the significant increase in available liquidity on the current accounts of Italians is a clear indication.

For the rest, some indicators that clearly emerged in previous years found substantial confirmation in 2022: the quantitative prevalence of litigation initiated by savers residing in regions of the North and South of the country (respectively 41.4% and 40.9%), compared to Central Italy (16.9%), with a completely marginal presence (less than 1%) of applicants residing abroad; the clear predominance of male applicants (68.4%), compared to 30.1% represented by women, and the low incidence (1.5%) of appeals filed by legal entities; the decidedly advanced age of the applicants, with over 70% of 55 and the low presence (less than 10%) of under 40s; the clear preference of the applicants for assistance by a lawyer (more than 65% of cases), a symptom of the permanent difficulty for many retail investors to defend themselves independently.

Regarding intermediaries, 74 were involved in the proceedings initiated during 2022 and in total 220 were called to answer for their work before the Alternative Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme, compared to the 1,292 intermediaries currently part of the ACF system (who were 1,204 at the end of 2021).

During 2022, the action to recover the backlog accumulated, especially in the first three years of the ACF operations, continued with the necessary intensity.

In fact, a total of 1,624 proceedings were concluded, bringing the final figure from 2017 to date to 8,998.

The final resumption of the deadline for the conclusion of all proceedings within the expected 180 days remains the priority objective also of 2023, to which the Board will devote special attention in its renewed composition, as defined by Consob last December.

Finally, among the programmatic objectives of 2023, we can point out: the realization, within the first half of the year, of initiatives for comparison with the associations of savers and intermediaries, in order to receive feedback on the services provided so far and suggestions for any improvement interventions to be made; the development of financial education initiatives aimed at the concrete needs of retail investors, enhancing to this end the vast caseload that now derives from the almost ten thousand appeals received so far; the further consolidation of cooperation relationships with homologous bodies (ABF and, as soon as possible, Insurance Arbitrator), with a view to sharing good practices and ensuring service standards always in line with the expectations of users.

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Consob presents a series of seminars entitled The investment choices of Italian households – Financial culture, innovation and sustainability based on the data collected by the Observatory 'The approach to finance and investment of Italian households'.

The first seminar, The investment choices of Italian households Evidence from the eighth Consob Report, will be held on Thursday 26 January 2023, from 10:00 to 11:30. Paolo Savona, Consob Chairman, Riccardo De Lisa (University of Cagliari), Nadia Linciano and Monica Gentile (Consob Studies Division) shall take part. The detailed programme of the event will be available shortly.

The Report provides evidence regarding the financial knowledge, attitudes and investment choices of Italian financial decision-makers. The eighth edition, which will be available on the Consob website at the end of the seminar, is dedicated to investors and explores knowledge of investment products and services, demand for financial advice, interest in sustainable investments and digitised services, and gender differences. Attendance is free of charge, though attendees are asked to register online: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/iscrizione-seminari.

The event is also streamed at the following link: https://youtu.be/Edlqh9QsGbg.

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The supervisory authorities of United Kingdom (Financial Conduct Authority - Fca), Luxembourg (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier - CSSF), Portugal (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários – Cmvm), Belgium (Financial Services and Markets Authority – FSMA), Ireland (Central Bank of Ireland), Austria (Financial Market Autority - Fma), Germany (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority – Bafin), Switzerland (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority – Finma), Hong Kong (Securities and Futures Commission - Sfc), Poland (Polish Financial Supervision Authority - Knf), Ontario (Ontario Securities Commission - Osc), New Zealand (Financial Markets Authority - Fma New Zealand),andFrance (Authorité des Marchés Financiers - Amf), report the companies and websites offering investment, financial and insurance services without the required authorisations.

Reported by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - United Kingdom:

• Moonbitfx (www.moonbitfx.ltd);
• Exorfxstrade (www.exorfxstrade.com);
• Fx-Capital / Furureview Express (https://fx-capital.co.uk);
• Profit-Miners.info (https://profit-miners.info);
• Stakes Holdings / Stakesholdings.net (https://stakesholdings.net);
• Extreme-Access.ltd (https://extreme-access.ltd);
• Tophoodfxtrade247 (www.tophoodfxtrade-247.com);
• Etradesoption (www.etradesoption.com);
• Webster Options (www.websteroptions.com);
• Keystone Crypto (https://keystonecrypto.com);
• Nexglobal / Nexglobal-Cop.Com (https://nexglobal-cop.com);
• Avalon-Brand (https://avalon-brand.com);
• Bit-Tradex (https://bit-tradex.org);
• Nexpoint-Global (www.nexpoint-global.com);
• Tradeglobfx (https://tradeglobfx.com);
• Jek Trade (www.jektrade.com);
• Expert Crypto Miners (www.expertcrypto-miners.com);
• Happy Penny UK / happypenny. uk UK (www.happypenny.uk), clone of a licensed company;
• Union Standard International Group Limited (www.usgfx.co.uk, www.usgfx.global);
• Uni-co / Uni-co.org (www.uni-co.org);
• Housing Disrepair Team Ltd;
• Skylerfinbank (www.skylerfinbank.com);
• Flash Coin Mine (www.flashcoinmine.com);
• Alpha Hedge Expert (https://www.alphahedgeexpert.com);
• Elitemineroption Plc / Elitemineroption Corp (www.elitemineroptions.com);
• Dmg Financial Services (www.dmgfinancialservices.co.uk);
• Fandcinvestmenttrust (www.fandcinvestmenttrust.uk), clone of a licensed company;
• Analyst Que / Analystque.com (www.analystque.com);
• Tradelap Limited (https://tradelap.net), clone of a licensed company;
• www.rci-uk.com, clone of a licensed company;
• Say No to Debts (www.saynotodebts.co.uk);
• www.stonebridgelimited.com, clone of a licensed company;
• Orbit Assets / Orbitassets.co.uk (www.orbitassets.co.uk);
• Cfdconsulting Capital UK Ltd/ Cfd Trades ( www.cfdconsulting.co, www.cfdtrades.co, www.cfdtrades.io), clone of a licensed company;
• Sustainablesse.co. uk (www.sustainablesse.co.uk), clone of a licensed company;
• Oriontero (www.oriontero.com). Previously reported by the Ontario Securities Commission (Osc) – Ontario (see Consob Informa No. 25/2022 of 18 July 2022) and by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) – Belgium (see Consob Informa No. 20/2022 of 13 June 2022);
• Royal Capital / Royal International (www.royalcapital.click/home);
• Forexnjr (https://fxnjrltd.com);
• Green Field Capital Bank Plc (https://greenfieldcapitalbank.com);
• Mavtopfxtrade (https://mavtopfxtrade.com);
• Wisecoinfx (https://wisecoinfx.com);
• Forexdiamondea (https://forexdiamondea.com);
• Aifxholding (www.aifxholding.com);
• Financial Access Bank (https://www.financialaccessbank.co.uk);
• Legit Bitcoin Fx (https://legitbitcoinsfx.live);
• Stocktrade Fx (https://stocktradefx24.com);
• Monie Trust Savings (www.monietrustsavings.com);
• Crypto-Equities (www.crypto-equities.co);
• Swiss Holding Bank (www.swissholdingbank.com);
• Fxglobe China (www.fxglobechina.com);
• Detox Bank / Detoxbank (https://detoxbankuk.net);
• Pips Index Fx (https://pipindexfx.com);
• Fx More Access (www.fxmoreaccess.online);
• Crypto Hub Perfect (www.cryptohubperfect.com);
• Fxfree Online Trade (www.fxfreeonlinetrade.com);
• Aquavolt Limited (https://www.sheffieldboilers.com and facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AquavoltLimited);
• Forex Masters Trading (https://fxmasterstrading.com);
• Ultimatemarket (https://ultimatemarket.org);
• Goldbrick Investment Capital (www.goldbrickinvestments.online);
• Teslafxstock-Trading (www.teslafxstock-trading.com);
• Wealthmatix (www.wealthmatix.uk);
• Capitalsinvestment.uk (https://capitalsinvestment.uk);
• 247legacymarket (https://247legacymarket.online);
• Profit Forex Signals (www.profit-forexsignals.com, www.twitter.com/profitfxsignal www.Instagram.comprofitforsignals; https://www.facebook.com/mapfxs);
• Forex Trading Worker (www.forextradeingworker.com, facebook.com/ForexTrading Worker).

Reported by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) – Luxembourg:

• Eljoinvest (https://eljoinvest.lu);
• Expochains / Expochains (www.expochains.com);
• Ooreka Inter (https://www.oorekainter.com) );
• Mercuria / Mercuria Ventures (https://mercuriax.com);
• Alphanis (https://www.alphanis.org);
• www.befinance.zd.fr, clone of a licensed company.

Reported by the Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM) - Portugal:

• Quotex/Maxbit Llc and Quotex/Awesomo Ltd (https://quotex.com/pt/, https://qxbroker.com/pt/, https://quotex-trade.io/pt/, https://quotex.io/pt, https://quotexcorretora.com/ and https://partner.qxbroker.com/pt, facebook https://www.facebook.com/quotexio/ and instagram https://www.instagram.com/quotex_io);

Reported by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) – Belgium:

• Findelbank.

Reported by the Central Bank of Ireland – Ireland:

• Beonwise;
• Bank of Lunar;
• Infinity Funds Icav;
• Private Investment Indemnity Company, clone of a licensed company.

Reported by the Financial Market Authority – (FMA) – Austria:

• Ikici (www.ikici.com);
• Florence Capital Advisor Group (www.florencecapital.at);
• Celomarket (www.celomarket.com);
• Binotrader (www.binotrader.com);
• Deutsche Group (https://www.deutsche-group.org);
• Tera Trade (www.teratrade.co);
• Ritzco Markets Ltd (www.rkase.com);
• Keystone International Markets Limited (www.ksi-markets.com);
• Eupac Digital Services Ltd (https://trillant.com);
• Crypto Active Trading ( www.cryptoactivetrading.net);
• https://www.deltainvestment.at.

Reported by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BAFIN) – Germany:

• Internationale Beratungs Gmbh;
• Diagenics Group Se Germany.

Reported by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA):

• https://ai-profit.com;
• Swiss Dienst (www.swissdienst.com);
• State Hills (www.statehills.com);
• www.balius-ag.ch.

Reported by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) - Hong Kong:

• www.cchkam.com, clone of a licensed company;
• www.ceresspc.com, clone of a licensed company;
• https://annaier.yellowurl.cn, clone of a licensed company;
• www.expectaexcap.com, clone of a licensed company.

Reported by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) - Poland:

• Ethereal Group Llc / Fintegral (www.fintegral.fund, www.fintegral.world, www.webtrader.fintegral.cloud);
• Gcb London (https://www.gcblondonltd.com/pl);
• Hala Tech Sa;
• Libellium Sp. z o.o.;
• Monero Emilia Biegańska Sp.j.

Reported by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) – Ontario:

• PancakeSwap Finance (www.pancakeswap.finance);
• Coinibank (www.coinibank.co);
• TradeSimple / Apollo MS Ltd / TradeStation (www.tradesimple.org, www.trstation.uk);
• Cryptoneix (www.cryptoneyx.io). Already the subject of Consob Resolution No. 22456 of 21 September 2022. Subsequently, the Authority, using the power granted to it under the "Decreto Crescita" (Growth decree) (Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019, article 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), ordered internet service providers to block access from Italy to the website https://cryptoneyx.io (see Consob Informa No. 30/2022 of 26 September 2022). Also reported by the Authorité des Marchés Financiers (Amf) – France (see Consob Informa No. 43/2022 of 27 December 2022).

Reported by the Financial Markets Authority - FMA New Zealand:

• Reo Funds Nz Limited / Mr Owen Edward Stokes (email: Owen@reofunds.co.nz);
• Artemis Investment Limited. Already reported by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) - Hong Kong, see Consob Informa No. 39/2022 of 28 November 2022;
• Bay Exchange ( https://bayexchange.com);
• www.ctrlex.com, clone of a licensed company.

The New Zealand Supervisory Authority informs savers that the investment offer called "Renewable Energy Bond Investing" may be a scam aimed at residents of New Zealand. The prospectus states that it was issued by Macquarie Asset Management and presents the logo and name of the CEO. Macquarie Asset Management has confirmed that the company is totally unrelated to the offer. The prospectus also states that the investment is "authorised and regulated by the FMA", which is false.

The FMA recommends that due diligence and caution be exercised before making any investment.

The FMA also alerts savers that the company Krypto Security (email address: financialmarketsauthority@gmail.com) contacts the public claiming to be able to help New Zealand residents recover stolen cryptocurrencies. Various high fees are charged in the recovery process, including a payment made through the use of a barcode stating that this is necessary to comply with New Zealand anti-money laundering legislation. The New Zealand Supervisory Authority warns that this control system does not exist in New Zealand.

It is also noted that New Zealand residents have received emails from a person posing as an FMA employee, the sender's email address is financialmarketsauthority@gmail.com.

The email domain used by government agencies in New Zealand ends with the extension govt.nz.

The FMA recommends acting with caution when dealing with entities or individuals that offer assistance in recovering any investments or money lost.

The FMA recommends acting with caution when dealing with entities or individuals that offer assistance in recovering any investments or money lost.

Reported by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) – France:

• www.bcicholding.com;
• www.eliostrategy.com;
• www.lembrege-capital.com;
• www.massardinvestissement.com.

The French Supervisory Authority, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), warns the public of savers against certain platforms offering real estate investments. An increasing number of platforms offer retail investors, often very young, the opportunity to build a real estate asset and/or earn rental income by participating in online fundraisers to finance the acquisition of assets, particularly real estate.

These funding operations allow companies to buy buildings. These companies promise to pay the investor a part of the income generated by the rental of the property, and in some cases the payment of a portion of the capital gain on the sale of the property calculated in proportion to the funds paid. All of these revenues are also called royalties. This activity corresponds to loan activities that take place through future income sharing. Although marketing proposals often highlight an investment in real estate, investors do not become property owners in any way. Investors are simply creditors of a company set up specifically for this purpose, often poorly capitalized. They have contributed their money to this company to buy a building of which the company is the sole owner.

As a result, investors bear a variety of risks. In addition to the risks usually associated with a real estate investment (for example, income may vary depending on changes in rents, vacant leases, the insolvency of tenants or a loss when the property is resold), investors also bear a risk related to their status as creditors of the company that owns the property.

This puts them at an additional risk of losing all the capital they have invested. The proposed financial yields are always overly optimistic or even unrealistic.

The AMF also notes that some platforms do not comply with the regulations in force, which aim to protect investors through the quality of the information provided, claims management or access to the AMF Ombudsman.

The Amf therefore calls on investors to be extremely vigilant with proposals for investment in loan activities based on the sharing of future incomes, often referred to as royalties.

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• Supervision of corporate governance and related party transactions in the context of offer and admission to trading prospectuses (Warning No. 1/23 of 13 January 2023). 

• The prospectus concerning the offer and admission to listing on the Bonds Online Market, organized and operated by Borsa Italiana Spa, of the bond issue "Eni sustainability-linked bonds 2023/2028" has been approved (decision of 11 January 2023).

• Lemanik Sim Spa, with registered office in Milan, has been registered on the register referred to in article 20, paragraph 1 of Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998. The company is authorised to carry out the placement investment service without irrevocable commitment to the issuer, referred to in Article 1, paragraph 5, letter c-bis), of the aforementioned legislative decree. The authorisation to provide the above investment service is issued with the following operating modes: "without the holding, even temporary, of clients' cash and financial instruments and without assumption of risks by the company" (Resolution no. 22557 of 11 January 2023).

Order, pursuant to art. 7-octies, letter b) of Italian Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 (Consolidated Law on Finance) to cease infringement of art. 18 of Consolidated Law on Finance, put in place by:

- Titancfd via the website www.titancfd-fx.com and its page https://platform.titancfd-fx.com (Resolution no. 22563 of 11 January 2023).

- Ecc Corp Llc via the website https://eccapitals.com and its pages https://ec-capitals.com and https://webtrader.eccapitals.com (Resolution no. 22559 of 11 January 2023).

- SevenCapital24 via the website https://sevencapital24.com (Resolution no. 22561 of 11 January 2023).

- Eudaimon Consulting Llc via the website https://stellarfx.co (Resolution no. 22560 of 11 January 2023).

- Win Traders via the website https://win-traders.com and its page https://client.win-traders.com (Resolution no. 22562 of 11 January 2023).