Resolution no. 20425

Order, pursuant to Article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b), of Italian Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') to cease the infringement of Article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance performed via the www.gallantfinance.com website

LA COMMISSIONE NAZIONALE PER LE SOCIETA' E LA BORSA
[THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COMPANIES AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE]

HAVING REGARD TO Law no. 216 of June 7, 1974, and subsequent amendments and additions;

HAVING REGARD TO Legislative Decree no. 58 of February 24, 1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') and subsequent amendments and additions;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the www.gallantfinance.com website, it emerged that:

i. although the www.gallantfinance.com website is written in English, following the registration, users can access a page dedicated to them, available in several languages, including Italian;

ii. potential investors, after the registration on the said website via the dedicated online form and opening an account on which to deposit money, has the opportunity to trade on the foreign currency market (Forex) and in CFDs through the MT4 platform;

iii. in particular, the said website offers different types of account, namely 'Bronze', 'Silver', 'Gold' and 'Gallant', which differ mainly for the amount of the minimum deposit required and the benefits.

iv. the company Allmedia Ltd, with alleged registered office in St. Vincent, is mentioned at the footer of every page of the said website;

v. in the 'Terms and Conditions' section it is specified that 'Clearing and billing services' are provided by the Vcapital doo Podgorica company, with declared offices in Montenegro;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the activities carried out also via the said website can be classed as the provision of investment services referred to in Art. 1, para. 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients have the opportunity to open a trading account against which purchase and/or sale orders involving financial instruments can be issued;

HAVING CONSIDERED that, according to the information available, people operating in the name of 'Gallant Finance' have contacted Italian investors by telephone in order to persuade them to open an account and trade on the www.gallantfinance.com website;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the www.gallantfinance.com website, although it is not written in Italian, has no blocking mechanism in place to prevent the registration of Italian users;

HAVING CONSIDERED that Allmedia Ltd and Vcapital doo Podgorica are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as the said companies are not registered on the register held by CONSOB pursuant to Art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved to authorised entities as referred to under Art. 18, para. 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which 'The professional provision of investment services and activities for the public is reserved for investment firms and banks';

HAVING ESTABLISHED, therefore, that the operations in question can be classed as the professional provision of investment services involving financial instruments to the Italian public, in infringement of Art. 18, para. 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING CONSIDERED that, according to Art.7-octies of the Consolidated Law on Finance 'Powers to counteract abuse' - CONSOB 'may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities through the Internet without being qualified therefore pursuant to this decree: a) make public, even by way of a precaution, the circumstance that the party is not authorised to carry out the activity indicated by article 1, paragraph 5; b) order that the infringement cease';

HEREBY RESOLVES:

To order the cessation of the infringement of Art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 also performed via the www.gallantfinance.com website, consisting of the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be notified to those concerned and published in CONSOB's Bulletin.

This measure may be appealed with the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio within 60 days from the date of notification.

8 May 2018

On behalf of THE CHAIRMAN
 Anna Genovese