Resolution no. 21265

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 website www.swissfxuk.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 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 www.swissfxuk.com, it emerged that:

i. the website is active and available in Italian;

ii. after registration and opening of an account, the site offers the possibility of accessing online trading services on CFDs with underlying currencies, indices and commodities through a special digital platform;

iii. in order to carry out trading operations, a cash investment must be made by depositing money into an account opened online; there are three types of account available, called 'Silver', 'Gold' and 'Platinum', which differ from each other in terms of the minimum deposit required and the benefits offered;

iv. the reference details of 'FM Solutions Group Limited' are shown at the bottom of each of the website pages, which states that it is based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; in the "Contact us" section there is an email address, a telephone number with a foreign dialling code and a special form to request information;

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 above transactions, carried out through the website www.swissfxuk.com, are still ongoing, as well as being aimed at Italian investors as the website is available in Italian;

WHEREAS the company FM Solutions Group Ltd, mentioned on the website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since 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

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 website www.swissfxuk.com, consisting in offering and providing 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