Resolution no. 23299

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 through the websites https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com

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 via the websites https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com - which are active, available in Italian and anonymously registered - to trade futures and digital currencies via a trading platform;

ii. in order to place trades, users must register with the website through a process that is also available to users connecting from Italy;

iii. as to traceability, in the websites https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com there are references to the "2139 Exchange", of which the email address "2139ex@gmail.com" is indicated;

HAVING REGARD to resolution no. 23261 of 24 September 2024, whereby the aforementioned "2139 Exchange" was ordered to cease its infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate websites https://2139.online, https://2139.ltd and https://2139.fun;

HAVING REGARD to resolution no. 23277 of 9 October 2024, whereby the aforementioned "2139 Exchange" was ordered to cease its infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate websites https://2139.one, https://2139.nl, https://2139a.com and https://2139.lol;

WHEREAS the websites https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com feature content and graphic format that are identical to those of the aforementioned websites https://2139.online, https://2139.ltd and https://2139.fun, https://2139.one, https://2139.nl, https://2139a.com and https://2139.lol;

WHEREAS the activity carried out via the websites https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com is to be considered as provision of investment services, as referred to in Article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, as users are offered the opportunity, through the aforementioned domains, to register and open a trading account and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the above activity, carried out via the websites https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, given that said websites are available in Italian and that no mechanism was found that blocked registration by users attempting to register on the website from Italy through Italian IP addresses; moreover, in relation to said websites, cold calling of Italian consumers has also been reported and complaints were received from Italian retail investors who complained of losses suffered in the "2139" platform and reported that potential customers come into contact with said platform also through word of mouth and Telegram groups;

WHEREAS the https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com 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 https://2139b.com and https://2139c.com, 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.

23 October 2024

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona