Resolution no. 20480

Order, pursuant to art. 7-octies, par. 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 performed through the www.centrobanc.com website

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 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.centrobanc.com website, it emerged that:

i. the www.centrobanc.com website, registered by a user whose identity is unknown, is also available in Italian and displays an email address (support.it@centrobanc.com) and a telephone number (+390457860199), both specifically intended for Italian investors;

ii. the potential investors, subject to registration with the websites and opening an account using the online form available, have the opportunity of trading on the currency market (FOREX) and in CFDs, including raw materials and indexes, as well as cryptocurrencies, through the MT4 platform;

iii. in order to carry out the trading transactions, an investment of money is required, through the payment of sums into the account opened online. In particular, the website offers various types of account, namely ‘Islamico’, ‘ECN’ and ‘Vip’ and ‘Pro’, distinguished above all by the minimum deposit required and by the benefits.

iv. the users have also the opportunity of opening a ‘PAMM’ account;

v. the company Sucaba Enterprise Ltd, with alleged registered address in the Marshall Islands, is mentioned in the ‘Terms and Conditions’ section and at the bottom of every page of the website;

vi. furthermore, the email that received upon completion of the registration process states that “the website is operated by Joshua EOOD Partners” with alleged registered address in Bulgaria.

HAVING CONSIDERED that the activities performed via the aforementioned 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 are offered the opportunity to open a financial instrument trading account against which they can issue purchase and/or sales orders of financial instruments;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the aforementioned operations performed via the www.centrobanc.com website are directed to Italian investors, insofar as the website is also available in Italian, has no mechanism in place to prevent the registration of Italian users and provides an email address and telephone number intended for Italian users;

HAVING ALSO ESTABLISHED that, according to the information available, people operating in the name of ‘CentroBanc’ have contacted Italian investors by telephone in order to persuade them to open an account and trade on this website;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that Sucaba Enterprise Ltd and Joshua Partners EOOD are not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as these companies are not registered on the dedicated 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 for authorised entities as referred to under article 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 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 performs 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 fact that the party is not authorised to perform the activity indicated under article 1, paragraph 5; b) order that the infringement be discontinued”;

HEREBY RESOLVES:

The order is issued to cease the infringement of art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 also performed via the www.centrobanc.com website, consisting of the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of those concerned and published in CONSOB’s Bulletin.

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

12 June 2018

THE CHAIRMAN
Mario Nava