Newsletter - CONSOB AND ITS ACTIVITIES
Newsletter
News of the week:
Watch for scams! Financial fraud: Consob blacks out 4 more abusive websites
Save the date - 19 June 2023 - Seminar “The mapping of financial products from the perspective of investor protection: presentation of Consob Legal Research Paper no.
28”
Supervisory contributions, deadlines for flood victims suspended
Market Regulation, Consob opens public consultation on national adaptation to certain European reforms
Investor protection warnings from other regulatory authorities
Commission decisions taken during the week
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:
- Softech Trades (www.softechtrades.com website and its https://client.softechtrades.com page);
- Fxlivestrade (www.fxlivestrade.com website);
- Baer-group (website https://baer-group.com and page https://webtrader.baer-group.cc);
- Ikon Cfd (website www.ikoncfd-24.com and its pages https://my.ikoncfd-24.com and https://webtrader.ikoncfd-24.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 911.
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 on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
Consob and Bocconi University of Milan are holding a seminar today, 19 June, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to present the Consob Legal Research Paper no. 28 entitled "The mapping of financial products from the perspective of investor protection" at Bocconi University, Classroom N04, Piazza Sraffa 13, Milan.
The proceedings will be opened by Marco Ventoruzzo (Bocconi University) and Chiara Mosca (Consob Commissioner).
Paola Lucantoni (University of Rome "Tor Vergata"), Andrea Perrone (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan) and Emanuele Rimini (University of Milan) will take part in the discussion. Michele Siri will moderate (University of Genoa).
Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan) will wrap up the proceedings.
Consob suspended until 20 November 2023 the deadline for the payment of supervisory contributions for all entities with registered offices in the territories hit by the floods, identified in Decree No. 61 of 1 June 2023.
The measure - valid for persons that have not already paid contributions and adopted by resolution No. 22737 of 14 June 2023 - takes into account the particularly serious situation and the potential difficulty for those liable to pay to comply by the 15 May deadline.
The postponement is in line with the provisions issued by the Italian Government in Decree-Law No. 61 of 1 June 2023, which suspended the deadlines for tax and social security contribution obligations, as well as administrative deadlines for persons having their residence, registered office or place of business in the territories identified in the decree.
Consob submitted to public consultation with a deadline of 5 July, amendments to the Market Regulation (Regulation No. 20249 of 28 December 2017) that complete the adaptation of the national regulation to certain European reforms. The changes specifically concern:
- the transfer to Esma of the authorisation and supervision of financial market transaction reporting services, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2175 amending Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 (MiFIR);
- the simplification of the regulation of limits on derivatives positions in agricultural commodities and critical or significant goods, pursuant to Directive (EU) 2021/338 which amends the Mifid directive as part of the Capital Markets Recovery Package.
The reforms have already been implemented at primary level through amendments to Legislative Decree No. 58 of 1998. The update of the Market Regulation aims at aligning the secondary legislation too with the new European reference framework.
Specifically, the amendments relating to data reporting services (Articles 52-60) are intended to limit the application of the Market Regulation to the case of approved publication arrangements mechanisms (APAs) and approved reporting mechanisms (ARMs) of limited relevance for the internal market.
Other amendments are a consequence of the shift of regulation of the sector from the Mifid II Directive to the directly applicable Mifir Regulation.
The amendments on derivatives on goods (Articles 61-65) are proposed due to the new scope of the position limit regime introduced by the aforementioned European legislation. The intervention also aims to rationalise the reporting obligations to Consob (see repeal of Article 63 and amendments to Articles 62, par. 3, 64 and 65, par. 4).
The proposals in consultation do not impose any additional rules compared to EU law; rather, the aim is to minimise the burdens on obliged parties by enhancing the information they are already required to make public and transmit to the authorities in the light of the EU provisions.
Comments on the consultation document must reach Consob by 5 July 2023 online via the Sipe (Sistema Integrato per l’Esterno).
The supervisory authorities of United Kingdom (Financial Conduct Authority - Fca), Spain (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores - Cnmv), Austria (Financial Market Autority - Fma)andLuxembourg (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier - CSSF) report the companies and websites offering investment, financial and insurance services without the required authorisations.
Reported by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - United Kingdom:
- Globa Giant Asset / Globagiantasset (www.globagiantasset.com);
- Octusgloballtd.com (www.octusgloballtd.com);
- Infinity Miners (www.infinityminers.net);
- Infinite Prime (www.infiniteprime.org);
Reported by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) – Spain:
- Ubm Capital (www.ubmcapital.com);
- Alliancefxlimited (https://alliance-fxlimited.co);
- Difc Investment (https://difcinvestment.world);
- Exprime (https://exprime.com);
- Pristine Group Llc / Global News Trade (https://globalnewstrade.top/es);
- Medifinance Limited (www.medifinancelimited.com);
- New Horizon Technologies, S.L. (https://nhtechnologies.com);
- Royal Investment Consortium (www.royalinvestmentconsortium.com).
Reported by the Financial Market Authority – (FMA) – Austria:
- TraderMinds / Trader Minds Management Ltd (www.traderminds.com);
- Wirrerium Llc (www.exteom.com);
- Yem / Yem Foundation (www.yem.foundation; www.truthaboutyem.com);
- https://www.dsil24.com;
- https://dsil-llc.com;
- Gala-Gruppe (https://gala-gruppe.com);
- Expert Trademiners (https://expert-trademiners.com);
- Magna Finance Holdings (www.magnafinanceholdings.com);
- Immediate Edge (https://immediateedge-trading.com);
- Netprofit (www.net-profit.eu);
- Ervestment (www.ervestment.com, https://erstn-gr.com/457t/Account/Login).
Reported by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) – Luxembourg:
- 4x / Cixx Llc (https://4x.fm).
The Luxembourg supervisory authority, the CSSF, also reports that unknown persons are contacting savers via the email address Lastname.firstname@ifp-investissements.fr by illegally using the name of the authorised company Ifp Investment Management S.A., which is totally unrelated to the aforementioned activities.
-
The deadline for payment of the contributions provided for in Resolution No. 22554 of 22 December 2022, subsequently amended by Resolution No. 22624 of 8 March 2023, is suspended until 20 November 2023 for all entities having their registered office in the territories specifically identified in Decree No. 61 of 1 June 2023, which have not already paid the amount due (Resolution No. 22737 of 14 June 2023).
- The information note on the programme for the offer to the public of certificates issued by Banco BPM Spa has been approved (decision of 14 June 2023).
- The authorisation of Rede Partners Llp to provide the investment services of reception and transmission of orders, investment advice, advice to companies on capital structure, industrial strategy and related matters, as well as advice and services relating to mergers and the purchase of companies, has lapsed as a result of express waiver, and the company has been removed from the register of companies of third countries other than banks referred to in Article 20, par. 1 of Legislative Decree No 58 of 24 February 1998 (Resolution no. 22738 of 14 June 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:
- Softech Trades though the website www.softechtrades.com and its page https://client.softechtrades.com (Resolution no. 22741 of 14 June 2023);
- Fxlivestrade through the website www.fxlivestrade.com (Resolution No. 22740 of 14 June 2023);
- Baer-group through the website https://baer-group.com and page https://webtrader.baer-group.cc (Resolution No. 22739 of 14 June 2023);
- Ikon Cfd through the website www.ikoncfd-24.com and pages https://my.ikoncfd-24.com and https://webtrader.ikoncfd-24.com (Resolution No. 22742 of 14 March 2023).