Resolution no. 23576 of 28 May 2025

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://www.stetrading.online

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:

1. the website https://www.stetrading.online – active, anonymously registered and available exclusively in Italian – offers potential investors the opportunity to have their trading account managed for carrying out transactions relating to financial contracts on forex. This management activity would be carried out by “SteTrading” operators in the form of so-called “direct management” or through automated methods, by means of the so-called “Expert Advisor” software, that formulate investment recommendations and execute them automatically. To use the management service, both in direct and automated mode, users are invited to open accounts which are then handled by the "manager" according to the so-called "PAMM" ("Percentage Allocation Management Module") and "MAM" ("Multi Account Manager“) systems;
2. as to the traceability of the aforementioned transactions, the website states that Mr. Stefano Giampaolo Conti is the «Founder of SteTrading and a professional Trader with many years of experience in account management and financial consultancy, the beating heart of SteTrading». On the contact page, among other things, an address in Panama («Evolution Tower, Piso 1, Panamá San Francisco»), a telephone number with a Panamanian prefix («+507 6267-6348»), and an email address («steconti18@gmail.com») are indicated.

WHEREAS the activity carried out via the website https://www.stetrading.online is deemed to constitute the provision of investment services, as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, since through said domain users are offered the possibility of having their trading account managed for carrying out transactions relating to financial contracts on forex. This activity qualifies as the provision of portfolio management investment service;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, which is carried out via the https://www.stetrading.online website, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, given that said domain is also available exclusively in Italian and attributable to a natural person of Italian nationality who promotes its contents through social networks. Furthermore, in relation to the initiatives promoted through said website, a report was received from an Italian investor;

WHEREAS the transactions recorded on the https://www.stetrading.online website are not 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 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 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, paragraph 1, 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 breach of article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 carried out via the https://www.stetrading.online website, constituted by the offer 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 from the communication.

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona