Resolution no. 21908

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 https://fxcapitalize.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 the checks carried out, it emerged that:

i. the website https://fxcapitalize.com, which is active, available in Italian and registered in the name of the company Lacari Group Ltd - is composed of the sections"Home","Markets", "Instruments", "Learn how to trade", "Prices" and "Company", and offers - after opening an account - users the possibility of placing trades on the forex market, CFD, indices, futures and shares through a trading platform;

ii. in order to place such transactions, users must register with the website, through a procedure that is also available for Italian users, following which it is possible to access the reserved area https://fxcapitalize.com/it/register that has different features and in which it is possible to deposit and withdraw funds;

iii. in particular, three types of account are indicated on the website, known as "Silver", "Gold", "Platinum", which differ according to the minimum deposit required;

iv. as regards the ownership of the website, on the "Terms and Conditions" page there is a reference to the company "Lacari Group LTD"; in this regard, at the bottom of the website pages the following is stated "Fx-Capitalize is a website is owned and operated by Lacari Group Ltd with registration number 26112 BC 2020. Office address: Beachmont Business Centre, Suite 154, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines'; in the section "Contact us" there is also another address "ul. Osogovo 38-40 1303 Sofia Center Bulgaria";

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://fxcapitalize.com websitemay be considered as the provision of investment services within the meaning of article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, given that the domain offers users the opportunity of opening a trading account against which purchase and/or sale orders for financial instruments may be issued;

WHEREAS such operations may be carried out, through the website https://fxcapitalize.com and that they are available to Italian investors, since the domain is also available in Italian;

WHEREAS "Lacari Group LTD", mentioned on this website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear on the dedicated register held by Consob pursuant to art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence to provide investment services and activities as per article 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which "The professional provision of investment services and activities to the public is reserved to Stock brokerage firms, EU investment firms, Italian banks, EU banks and non-EU firms";

HAVING ESTABLISHED, therefore, that the operations in question qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in infringement of article 18, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that, according to the provisions of article 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 https://fxcapitalize.com website, consisting in the offering and provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties and 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.

17 June 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona