Resolution no. 21262

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 www.thepremiumbrokers.net and https://trader.secure.thepremiumbrokers.net

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 supplements;

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

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the website, it emerged that:

i. through the website www.thepremiumbrokers.net, which is also available in Italian, a potential investor is offered - after registering with the website, access to the personal area by being redirected to the website https://trader.secure.thepremiumbrokers.net and opening an account - the possibility of trading in CFDs with currencies and indices as their underlying, in currency, commodity and stock-market futures and in shares;

ii. in order to be able to trade, a cash investment is required to be paid into an account opened online;

iii. Premium Solutions Ltd, based in the Marshall Islands, is indicated at the bottom of the www.thepremiumbrokers.net and https://trader.secure.thepremiumbrokers.net website pages. In the document called 'terms and conditions', available on the website www.thepremiumbrokers.net, the said Premium Solutions Ltd appears as the contractual counterparty of any user registering with the website; HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 21154 of 20 November 2019, which ordered the company Premium Solutions Ltd to cease the infringement of Article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the website https://thepremiumbrokers.com;

WHEREAS, in addition to using a domain that is partially superimposable on the domain of the aforementioned website https://thepremiumbrokers.com, the website www.thepremiumbrokers.netreplicates the content and graphic format of the said https://thepremiumbrokers.com website;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the websites www.thepremiumbrokers.net and https://trader.secure.thepremiumbrokers.net can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in Article 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 above described transactions, carried out through the websites www.thepremiumbrokers.net and https://trader.secure.thepremiumbrokers.net, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors, as both sites are also available in Italian and there have been reports for both of unsolicited telephone calls (so-called 'cold calling') to the Italian public;

WHEREAS Premium Solutions Ltd, with its registered address in the Marshall Islands, as mentioned on the websites, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it does not appear on the register kept by Consob pursuant to Article 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

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 through 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 websites www.thepremiumbrokers.net and https://trader.secure.thepremiumbrokers.net, consisting in the offering and provision 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.

February 12, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona