Resolution no. 21223

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 performed through the website www.ks-securities.com

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 and subsequent amendments and additions;

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

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from the checks carried out, it emerged that:

i. subject to registration, the website www.ks-securities.com,, which is active and also available in Italian, offers the opportunity of trading on financial instruments, namely ETFs and CFDs with various underlying assets such as currencies and cryptocurrencies;

ii. in order to perform trading transactions, a cash investment is required, to be paid into an account opened online.

iii. four types of account are offered on the website, named, depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised, “Micro”, “Gold”, “Platinum” and “Islamic”;

iv. on its homepage, the site refers to “Ks-securities Ltd”, the office address of which is not provided, to Vienna-based company “Ks-securities Vermogensverwaltungs Gmbh” and to “regulated broker Ks-securities”, alongside the logos of the BAFIN, the FMA and Consob;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through this website can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in art. 1, paragraph 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;

WHEREAS the aforementioned transactions, performed through the website www.ks-securities.com, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors insofar as the website is available in Italian and also there have been reports by potential customers of unsolicited telephone calls (so-called 'cold calling') to the Italian public;

WHEREAS the company mentioned on this website is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not registered on the dedicated register held by Consob pursuant to art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance, nor in the registers held by BAFIN or the FMA, the logos of which are reproduced on the website, and that the only company whose registered address is provided, Ks- securities Vermogensverwaltungs Gmbh”, is found to have been struck off the Austrian register of businesses;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved for authorised entities as referred to under art. 18, paragraph 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 qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in infringement of art. 18, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that, according to the provisions of art. 7-octies, letter b) 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 over the Internet without being qualified 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 Article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 carried out through the website www.ks-securities.com, consisting in the execution and offering of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of those whom it concerns and will be 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.

January 23, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona