Resolution no. 20616

Order, pursuant to art. 7-octies, par. 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') to discontinue the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance performed through the www.master4x.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.master4x.com website, it emerged that:

i. the www.master4x.com website is also available in Italian;

ii. potential investors, subject to registration on the website and the opening of an account via a specific form available online, have the opportunity to trade on the currency market (FOREX), in options and in CFDs, with underlying assets of 'precious metals, indexes, raw materials and energy markets' through the MT4 platform and special applications for mobile devices;

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;

iv. The 'Contact Us' section gives the address of a 'General Office' registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and an email address (info@master4x.com);

v. a specific section of the website attributes the website to a company called Strategic Future Investment Ltd, with no indication of any registered address.

HAVING ESTABLISHED that the activity carried out via the said website can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in art. 1, para. 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account against which purchase and/or sale orders for financial instruments can be issued;

HAVING CONSIDERED that the aforementioned operations performed via the www.master4x.com website are directed towards Italian investors, insofar as the website is also available in Italian;

HAVING CONSIDERED that Strategic Future Investment LTD is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is 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 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, 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 therefor 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 discontinue the infringement of art .18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 performed via the www.master4x.com website, consisting of the offer and 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.

10 October 2018

THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
Anna Genovese